Natto is a traditional Japanese dish made from fermented soybeans. It is characterized by a slimy, sticky, and stringy texture, and has a somewhat pungent smell and nutty flavor. Natto is typically served with soy sauce, mustard, chives, or other seasonings and served with cooked rice. Traditionally, natto was made by wrapping boiled soybeans in rice straw, which naturally contains the bacteria Bacillus subtilis on its surface. Doing so allowed the bacteria to ferment the sugars present in the beans, eventually producing natto. Nowadays, the rice straw has been replaced with styrofoam boxes in which B. subtilis can be directly added to boiled soybeans to start the fermentation process.
Natto is super nutritious and contains good levels of many nutrients that are important for optimal health. A 3.5-ounce (100-gram) portion provides the following:
- Calories: 211
- Fat: 11 grams
- Carbs: 13 grams
- Fiber: 5 grams
- Protein: 19 grams
- Manganese: 67% of the daily value (DV)
- Iron: 48% of the DV
- Copper: 74% of the DV
Natto is often eaten in Japan as a high protein breakfast food, served over steamed rice and mixed with mustard and soy sauce. It is also occasionally used in other foods, such as natto sushi, natto toast, in miso soup, tamagoyaki, salad, as an ingredient in okonomiyaki, chahan, or even with spaghetti.
