Natto has been recognized in Japan since ancient times as an ingredient with superb nutritional value. In Japan, the prototype of natto was first discovered at the end of the Jomon period, and the rectifying and detoxifying effects of natto were documented in the Edo period book, "Honchosai Shokusho". The discovery of nattokinase, an enzyme that dissolves blood clots, in the 1980s has attracted even more attention.

Japanese medical doctors and physiologists have learned that the protein of soybeans is insoluble, but when it is made into natto, it becomes soluble and produces amino acids, and various enzymes that do not exist in the raw materials are produced by natto bacteria and related bacteria, which help digestion and absorption in the stomach and intestines.

How to eat:

Traditionally, natto is mixed with soy sauce or wasabi (the boxed natto sold in department stores usually uses light soy sauce and yellow wasabi), stirred until a silky substance appears, and then eaten on top of white rice, which is called natto rice.

Some people mix natto with a variety of ingredients such as raw eggs, green onions, minestrone, daikon radish, and shibori. In Hokkaido and Tohoku, natto is sometimes mixed with sugar. There is also a creative way to eat it with mayonnaise. If the sauce is added without mixing, there will be too much water and the stickiness will be reduced, while green onions and mustard can suppress the pungent odor of natto ammonia. Those who are not used to eating natto think it is rotten boiled soybeans.

References: Baidu Encyclopedia-Natto