What is Natto and How Do You Make Homemade Natto

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In this article

I will explain brief information about natto and an easy way to make natto using natto starter
          Contents List

• What is Natto?
• The Nutrients of Natto, a Superfood from Japan
• Types of Natto You Need to Know
• How to Make Natto
• Natto Q&A
• How to Deliciously Eat Natto
• Where to Buy Natto
• Recommended Products for Natto

What is Natto?

Natto is a traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans. It has been known since ancient time. Many people eat natto, so you can say that it is a food that is loved by many generations.

Making natto includes a fermentation process to convert carbohydrates into alcohol or organic acids using microorganisms (natto starter/natto bacillus) under anaerobic conditions. Therefore, the ingredients of natto are soybeans and natto starter only.

Natto has sticky and slimy texture, strong flavor, and rather strong smell.

A lot of people love natto, but there are also many people who dislike it.

For you who haven't tried it yet, please try by all means!

In Japan, natto is very popular.

We can say that all Japanese know natto.

Japanese people usually eat natto as breakfast food.

In addition, natto is unexpectedly good for your health. It has many nutrients in one serving. This tiny, sticky little thing will keep you healthy if you consume it!

The Nutrients of Natto, a Superfood from Japan

According to Japanese Population-Based Osteoporosis (JPOS) Study, the consumtion of natto has many benefits such as protection againts breast cancer, prostate cancer, menopausal symptoms, heart disease and osteoporosis. This benefits are derived from the isoflavones inside natto.

Natto is very good for your health!

Contains Probiotics

The soybeans in natto undergo a fermentation process which creates conditions that promote the growth of probiotics. Probiotics are bacteria that have many benefits to our body. Some of the benefits are they improve your food digestion, as a defense against toxins and harmful bacteria, and can help reduce gas, constipation, and bloating.

Good for the Skin

Natto is rich of a vitamin known as pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), which is people little-known about, that is important to maintain healthy, beautiful skin.

Contains A Lot of K Vitamins

Natto is abundant with vitamin K. You can find vitamin K1 in many green vegetables such as spinach. However, another important K vitamin, vitamin K2 is not as easy to find. Vitamin K2 is produced by bacteria, and natto happens to be rich of it. Vitamin K2 delivers a wide range of health benefits, such as maintaining bone density, supports bone health by increasing bone mass and slowing boneloss, and is associated with lower risk of heart disease, artery calcification and death.

High Protein

Protein is important for building your cells and muscles. 100 grams of natto gives you about 17.7 milligrams of protein, including all the 8 essential amino acids, which is 35% of the recommended daily intake.

It is also said that the best way to consume soybean is the fermented soybean, such as natto, miso or tempeh.

Click here to see our Recommended Products for Natto

Types of Natto You Need to Know

There are two types of natto; itohiki natto and tera natto. There is also dried natto - which is safe to be shipped abroad because it is freeze-dried. The types of natto can differ their taste and structure. Feel free to taste it and find your own type!

Itohiki natto

Itohiki natto is the usual natto that we know.
We tried all types of Itohiki Natto so we'll tell you about our comments and its differences!
Itohiki Natto (stringy) can be categorized into 3 types:

1. Marudaizu Natto

Marudaizu or whole-soybeans natto use the whole soybeans and fermenting them to become natto. This type is the most popular one.

The size of the bean used will affect the natto's stickiness. The bigger the bean, the less sticky things get when you mix it. So if you are new in this "natto world", choosing bigger beans will be a good choice for beginners.

We also taste the marudaizu natto that is made with black soybean. The taste is more flavourful comparing to the yellow soybeans.

Black soybean are usually using soy sauce and wasabi as their topping. The topping gives a little spiciness at first (wasabi), but it become refreshing once you chew it. As for the smell, black soybean natto has a weaker smell and it won't bother people who doesn't really like natto.

2. Hikiwari Natto

The grounded natto is made by roasting soybeans -> grinding soybeans -> removing the peel -> and boiling soybeans. This type of soybean creates more surface area for the bacteria to grab onto, making this natto the stickiest and strongest tasting of them all. Hikiwari natto is easy to eat because of its small, chopped sized. The taste is also fresher than marudaizo natto.

I would like to recommend this natto for you who already like to eat natto. Because it is more sticky compared to the usual marudaizu natto, this can be your next challenge in your natto eating experience.

3. Goto Natto

Goto natto is a fermented form of natto, koji (malt), and salt. It took around 1 week to complete the fermentation process. Its origin is from Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture.

After having been changed to be made with less salt, it is sold under the name of "Yukiwari Natto."

We tried to make the traditional-style of Goto Natto and fermented it for 1 week, and the taste is very amazing!

At first, we thought that Hikiwari Natto has the strongest taste among all natto variations, but Goto Natto has the strongest taste after all. It has strong aroma and taste, a little bit salty (depends on how much you put the salt) but in the same time, you can enjoy a little bit sweetness from the rice koji.

The texture is not that sticky and sometimes the rice koji is stick into your teeth. The strings became thinner and not as sticky as Marudaizu Natto.

As you can see at the image, the natto's color became darken because of the fermentation process. Usually, natto's taste will become awful when you leave it for a few days. But in this case, the beans are still tasty. You can normally eat it with rice or another toppings.

"This combination (natto, rice koji, and salt) increase the umami of natto!"

Not many Japanese people know about this Goto Natto, even we tried to make it for the first time.
So, why don't you take your try too?

Tera Natto

Another type of natto is called Tera Natto (Shiokara natto or salty natto). Tera natto is said to firstly made by monks in temples.

It was produced in one of the Buddhist temple called "Nassho" that became the origin of natto's name.

Tera natto is another kind of natto that is not stickly. It is a savoury fermented black soybeans that has a similar taste to red miso.

The production is using koji-mold, then salt is added before the mixture is set aside for the fermentation process which took approximately six months.

Like the usual natto, Tera natto can be eaten plain or added to a dishes like miso soup (mix it with hatcho miso will be delicious), or make a kinkan maki.

Dried Natto

Dried natto is natto that immediately freeze-dried. In Kumamoto Prefecture, dried natto is called as "Korumame" and it has been popular since ancient times too.

It has the same flavor and taste of natto even it is dried. Also, dried natto is not sticky like normal natto. So it's easy to consume, and good for those who don't really like sticky natto but still want to take natto's nutrients. Instead, the umami and nutrients are improved because it is frozen.

Some commercially available dried natto may contain a lot of salt. However, Kawashima The Japanstore have a salt-free dried natto. It is also free of food additives, salt, sugar, oil, and genetically modified soybeans. So you can consume it without worry. Click here to read more about "Dried Hikiwari Natto 45g (Domestic Soybean 100%)"!

How to Make Natto

Materials for Making Natto

• natto bacteria 0.1ｇ
• soybeans（100～1000g）

It would be handy if you have the following

• electric food warmer
• pressure cooker

Steps to Make Natto

1.Wash the beans

Put the beans into a bowl and wash them well by rubbing them together.

Be careful not to break the skin.

Soil and other impurities on the surface of soybeans has tons of microorganisms that have adverse effects on making Natto.

Make sure to wash off all the dirt and debris.

2. To Soak the washed soybeans in water

Soaking time differs depending on the season In spring and autumn, you have to soak the beans for 15 hrs on 10-15 degrees celsius water temperature.

In summer you have to soak the beans for 6 hrs on 20-25 degrees celsius water.

When the temperature is too high cover the bowl with plastic cling wrap and leave in the fridge for about 24 hours.

The beans expand about 4 times more than the soybean weight.
(500g of soybeans uses 2L of water)

3. Boil the beans

Boil it till it easily squashes by nipping with thumb and index finger.

The beans will have slightly hard texture when fermentation starts,

so make sure to boil them until tender.

It takes approx 30 mins for a pressure cooker to cook.
(The result may vary depending on a cooker. Please refer to the instruction manual for the exact cooking time)

4. Dissolve Natto starter into water and make“Natto solution”

Pour 10ml of water
(pre-boiled and then cooled water is fine too)

in a cup and dissolve 0.1g of Natto starter
(one fifth of small spoon) in it.

Use this Natto solution to ferment the beans.

It is easier to succeed with more Natto solution.

For the first timer, using greater amount than this recipe is recommended.

5. To pour the Natto solution over the beans

Discard the boiled water.

Then in no time, pour the Natto solution and mix thoroughly.

Don't let the temperature to drop,

as it can lead to unwanted bacterial contamination.

Prepare to pour the Natto solution as soon as the beans are boiled.

Transfer the beans from the pot to a foodwarmer such as a Yogurt Maker.

I'm using a food warmer function of the pressure cooker Please Keep the soybean mixture in a warmer for 24 hours to ferment.

The best temperature for Natto solution to ferment is 40 to 45 degrees celusius.

Keep the temperature steady at 45 degrees and set the timer for 24 hours when using a food warmer.

I kept the beans warm for 24 hours Let's check the fermentation condition It looks well fermented however it has a strong ammonia smell at this point.

6. Let the fermented nattocool in the fridge

Transfer the fermented beans to refrigerator to mature
By resting the beans in a fridge for a day,

amino acid composition of soy protein will enrich the flavor of Natto.

Let’s see how the natto is after resting it overnight

It is perfectly fermented and there is no smell of ammonia.

Tasty Natto is now ready to be served.

In this video I used 165g of soybean The finished natto weighs 721g

If you are not planning to eat immediately, keep it in a freezer.

If you leave the natto in a place where the temperature is high amino acids are broken down and cause ammonia smell.

When it is stored in the fridge, a white rough stuff will start to grow which will give it a bad texture in a week or so.

The taste and flavour of natto differs greatly depending on the fermentation time and the types of soybean.

You can decide on what type of soybean and how long you want to have it in fermentation.

Natto Q&A

What is Bacillus natto?

It is an inoculum for making natto.
Sprinkle a small amount of Bacillus natto on the steamed soybeans and keep it warm,
so that fermentation will proceed and natto will be completed.

I heard that it can be used as seed bacteria of natto with commercial natto.Is there a reason to use Bacillus natto?

When using commercially available natto as an inoculum, the fermentation does not go well because fermentation is weak, it will not draw the thread, or the bacteria will propagate and a strange smell will occur.
Bacillus natto of Kawashimaya is a bacillus natto made to make natto at home.
The fungus power is very strong, and it is a feature that it is difficult to fail even for the first person.

Natto hardly attracts threads

There is a possibility that the fermentation is not going well.
Please keep warm keeping for about 12 hours and see the state.

Extremely smelly

There is a possibility that germs have propagated during production.
Please do not eat.

The finished smell of natto has a strong smell of ammonia

After warming up, please try it in a refrigerator overnight.
Fermentation stops, and ammonia smell is also relaxed in many cases.

How to Deliciously Eat Natto

Natto is said to be Japanese-style breakfast's classic menu. Almost all of the Japanese households have stocks of this fermented food. Some people can't eat it, but you can't argue that natto has nutrient benefits for your health!

You need to learn how Japanese actually eat natto to improve your natto eating experience.

There are many delicious ways to eat natto. You can eat as it is, as dressings, or use it in cooking. One of these methods may become your favorite, so please check it out!

1. The traditional way with toppings

Japanese people would love to eat their natto with toppings.

Each people would have their own preference, but here's some topping to choose :

• - raw egg
• - shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)
• - tamanegi (onion), sliced
• - karashi (Japanese mustard)
• - wasabi (recommended for black soybean natto)
• - nori (seaweed)
• - kimchi, etc.

One important advice before eating your natto!

Make sure to stir / mix your natto thoroughly. Wait the texture until it become sticky, and that is the perfect time to eat your natto!

You can put your favorite topping at your own preference afterwards. Some topping will need another stir to make the taste even and delicious (shoyu and karashi, for example).

You can eat natto in the top of your rice. Japanese people said that rice is one of the best natto partner, especially when the rice is still warm.

When you put natto with rice and raw egg, it become natto tamago kakegohan (rice mixed with raw egg plus natto as the topping).

But eating it by itself will also be a good choice. You will be able to taste the unique, delicious taste of natto directly into your mouth!

2. Add your natto to dishes

Natto spaghetti

Why not combine the western style food (spaghetti) with Japanese cousine (natto)? Japanese people usually add egg when making natto spaghetti. Or it can be using another ingredients.
In addition, there are some restaurant who already have this on their menu.

Natto maki roll

A maki roll with natto as their topping. You can taste the authentic taste of Japanese rice wrapped with nori (seaweed) with the sticky sensation from the natto.

Natto curry

For you who currently wondering whether curry is a perfect match for natto.. the answer is yes.
Japanese style curry is good with natto. You need to try it yourself before you gonna regret it!

Natto gyoza

Gyoza is a wrapped dough usually filled with meats, and vegetables. But you can also add natto to make gyoza.
The important point is you can enjoy gyoza after steamed it or fried it. Delicious!

Natto soba

Another form of natto with noodles. But this time, it's soba (a noodles made from buckwheat flour). This is another favorite way to add natto to dishes.

Natto omellet

When eating raw egg is not your style, you can try to add natto in your omellet.
Japanese omellet (玉子焼き；grilled egg) is one of the Japanese-style recipe. You will need dashi (simple broth made with dried bonito flakes) and Japanese soy sauce to add more umami to the dishes.

Where to Buy Natto

It is good to buy delicious natto at a Japanese shop.

However, it is better to take natto overseas as it will degrade quality.

When you want to eat natto in your country, it is good to make it at home using Bacillus natto and soybeans.

At our shop, we are shipping fresh Bacillus natto and soybeans abroad.

Please have a look.

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