Ah, natto....that great divider of opinions. Are you a lover or a hater, or just a, "never tried that before" kind of person?
If you've read my other articles about these fermented soya beans, you'll know that I fall into the "lover" camp (as does everyone in my family - my husband even makes natto regularly and he is English!) I shan't go into the health benefits of natto here - suffice to say it is a very, very healthy thing to eat at least now and then and better, on a regular basis.
One of the most popular ways to eat natto in Japan, is in sushi, as Natto Maki, meaning in a sushi roll. I think eating natto rolled up in sushi rice hides the stickiness of natto from people's senses and makes it easier for them to eat. I think it's a great way to eat natto, so, I've provided an easy "how to" recipe here to do just that.
You can buy natto in Asian and Japanese food stores or over the internet and it isn't at all expensive. Then again, you could follow my recipe and make it yourself - there's a little bit of faff involved but it really is worth the effort as you get a whole lot of natto for not much effort or money.
However you choose to obtain your natto, once you've got it and prepared some sushi rice, you're a mere 20 minutes away from a nutritious meal of Natto Maki sushi rolls. As always, if you haven't made your own sushi before, I do encourage you to take a look at the video tutorial to get a visual idea of what to do.
You can find the written recipe for this dish just below and for the Youtube tutorial click Natto Maki sushi rolls. Or scroll to the bottom of the page.
If you would like to learn more about making you own natto, you can find the Youtube tutorial for that by clicking How to Make Natto.
Happy rolling! Kurumi XXXX.
If you want to browse another natto dish, why not try my Natto Linguine recipe.
Natto maki sushi rolls
ingredients:
(makes 2 rolls/16 pieces of rolled sushi)
40g natto (sticky fermented soya beans)
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp mustard
1 spring onion
1 sheet of nori, halved
160g cooked sushi rice*
1 sushi mat
a bowl of water (for wetting your knife when you slice the sushi roll into pieces)
*if you don't know how to make sushi rice, you can find the recipe in the sushi and sashimi section of the recipes page.
how to:
finely chop the spring onion
roughly chop the natto
combine the natto, spring onion, soy sauce & mustard & mix well
spread 1/2 the sushi rice thinly onto a 1/2 sheet of nori leaving a 1 cm strip at the top end without rice
spoon 1/2 the natto across the rice in a narrow strip about 2 cm above the bottom edge
now, take hold of the bottom edge of the sushi mat with your thumbs, steady the nori with your index fingers and roll the sushi into shape
when the roll is formed, give the mat a light squeeze with your fingers to create a tighter roll, then unroll the mat
slice the maki into 6 - 8 pieces per roll, wiping & wetting your knife every time you cut, to keep the blade from sticking.
your natto maki sushi rolls are ready - serve with small, individual bowls of soy sauce and a little wasabi