Introducing Natto, Japan’s Healthy Food

Hi, this is U-shi-.
This time, I’d like to introduce natto.
Have you ever eaten natto?
Natto is a very popular food in Japan, and it is well known by people overseas.
However, there are some people who know about natto but don’t like the smell of natto.
I wrote this article to introduce to you the appeal of natto, which has long been loved by the Japanese people.
I hope this article will help you understand the appeal of the food called natto and help you realize how wonderful natto is.
We cannot talk about Japanese food culture without talking about natto.
Please read to the end!

what is natto

Yes, I’ll start by explaining about natto.
Natto is a fermented food made by fermenting steamed soybeans with natto bacillus.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s food composition data, there are four types of natto.
The four types are: itohiki- Natto, hikiwari- Natto, Goto-Natto, and Tera-Natto.
Goto natto is made by fermenting and maturing hikiwari-natto with rice malt and salt.
Tera-natto is made by coating soybeans with malt and fermenting them in salted water, then drying them.

Introduction of Natto commonly eaten in Japan

In this introduction, I will show you two types of natto that are relatively common in our daily lives: itohiki-natto and hikiwari-natto.
From now on, I will refer to itohiki-natto as tubu-natto.
I will show you the natto I prepared for this time.
The one on the left is tubu-natto and the one on the right is hikiwari-natto.

This time, we have prepared the small-sized natto.
The only difference was the size of the grains.

Specific Differences

I will now explain the differences between the two types of natto in detail.
The differences between the two types of natto will be explained in terms of the manufacturing process, characteristics, and nutrients.

Manufacturing Method

The first one is the manufacturing method.
Here, I will show you a picture of how to make tubu-natto and hikiwari-natto.
This is how it is made.

It takes more time and effort to make hikiwari-natto than to make itohiki-natto.
It seems that they didn’t just make the grains finer.

Characteristics

Next, let’s talk about the characteristics.
First of all, tubu natto is characterized by the texture and crunchiness of the soybeans.
It is important to chew them well.
In comparison, the skin of hikiwari-natto is removed when it is made, making it soft and crunchy, smooth in texture and easy to digest.

nutrients

Finally, let’s talk about the nutrients.
The effects that can be expected from eating natto include improvement of immunity, recovery from fatigue, prevention of lifestyle-related diseases, improvement of constipation, anti-aging and prevention of blood clots.
Here is the difference between the two types of natto.
Tubu-natto has a higher total nutritional value and contains more nutrients that can reduce the rise of blood sugar and improve constipation.
In comparison, hikiwari-natto contains more nutrients that are necessary for healthy teeth and bones.
However, while there are some differences in nutrients between the two, neither is outstanding in any one nutrient.
I think the important thing is to compare different types of natto, know what you like, and then continue to eat the one that is good for you.

Delicious way to eat

1. Open the container of natto (natto and accompanying sauce are inside).
2. Remove the plastic covering over the natto and pour the sauce over the natto.
3. Stir the natto with chopsticks.

It is said that natto tastes better when mixed with a lot of natto, so I recommend mixing a lot of natto!

There are many dishes using natto, but my recommendation is to eat natto over white rice or simply eat natto as it is.
No good. Writing this article made me want to eat natto. lol

Lastly

How about the explanation of natto so far? Natto is a really healthy food that contains many ingredients that are good for the body.
I love natto and eat it everyday.
However, it is true that some people cannot eat natto because they do not like the smell or taste of natto.
Natto is a food for different tastes, but if you find natto tasty, you will be a natto addict.
It is that delicious. I can say that with confidence.
I would like you to try natto at least once.