Natto
Last week, our cellgroup games forfeit was to eat a spoonful of natto with wasabi. Many of our cellgroup members were wondering what that pungent smell was and did not want to get forfeited so that they wont have to eat it! Two of our cellgroup members were the sad ones that got forfeited (3rd one being me but i like natto!), and they literally felt like dying when eating the natto. So today lemme introduce this mysterious natto!
When i first ate natto, i tried one small mouthful and did not like it at all! i hated the smell and sticky texture of it! however, after a few more times, i started to take bigger and bigger mouthfuls of it and fell in love with natto! the pungent smell actually attracts me to it and somehow it smells a little like coffee beans to me.
ok u might be wondering why i kept trying natto over and over again even though i dont like it! its because john looooveeess natto and i kept buying it for him to eat! thus i had to keep trying it too!
natto is actually a type of traditional japanese food made from fermented soybeans. it is fermented with Bacillus Subtilis. ok i dont know what is that but wikipedia said so. wikipedia also said that it is a rich source of protein and good bacteria but i already knew that, since its soybean right???
so history of natto... if u dont wanna read, pls skip to the next part.
right, history.... ok so sources differ about the origin of natto but the consistent thing in all the sources is that originally, natto was made by first steaming the soybeans then fermenting it in rice straw. they would leave it in the straw bags to ferment for days and the fermentation was done either buried underground underneath a fire or in a warm place.
today, natto is made steaming the soybeans for 6 hours then mixing it with the bacterium. the mixture is then fermented at 40 degrees celsius for 24 hours. after the natto is cooled, it is aged in a refigerator for up to one week to allow the development of stringiness. today, it is usually sold in small styrofoam containers and a typical package contains 2 or 3 containers. It usually includes a small packet of soy sauce and a packet of mustard.
Natto is eaten in many different ways in different parts of Japan and i guess they all try to come up with special ways to enjoy natto. for me, i like to eat it by itself, straight out of the pack! but i am always game to try other ways to eat it! one good way would be to put it into a handroll.
or do it like how most japanese does it. mix it with rice for breakfast
natto pasta
basically, the sky's the limit when cooking with natto! its all up to your creativity (and whether u can accept the funky taste and smell hehe)
where to buy natto?
you can get it frozen at most fairprice finest , bishan fairprice (always buy it there), got it once at clunycourt cold storage and meidi-ya (jap supermarket at liang court)
alternatively, if you just wanna try some first, you can go to sushi-tei. they serve it with maguro. not too sure about other japanese restaurants but i'm sure it wont be that hard to find!
Enjoy!
DINNER!
Chilli crab sauce stir-fry with prawns
Brocolli, carrot stir-fry with sliced pork
pan fried cod fish with garlic and parsley
anyone wants the recipes? do comment!
KONAPUN
Hi everyone! we haven't been uploading our blog for a long time and i guess its because we lost the momentum of blogging and its so hard to get back into it! well, today I'm here to blog because i have something exciting to share with everyone! It's something i discovered on youtube and eventually got so madly in love with, i watched almost every single video of it!
The title of this blog post is the name of this thing I'm currently crazy over! it's KONAPUN! its invented by the Japanese and I'm not surprised because they are really creative and innovative! favourite japanese inventions includes
karaoke***** love it to the max!!
Can't live without it, cup noodles!
extremely cute tamagotchi!
Of course there are so many other japanese inventions that we cant live without. A trip to Daiso would be very rewarding because of all the interesting inventions that they sell there. i cant come out of daiso empty-handed. i just dont have that capability yet hahaha. ok im digressing... i shall blog about the awesomeness of Daiso another day.
back to KONAPUN. what is that? Basically, it's a range of toys released by Bandai, in which you can make mini fake food by adding water to the powder to imitate the cooking process. The sets available range from sushi sets, pasta and even creating and decorating cakes. this is a play set for kids but im sure many adults buy this for themselves! The Japanese are really good at making fake food look like real ones and many japanese restaurants display them outside their shop. still not convinced? lemme show you some videos.
making sushi
making a full bento set
making doughnuts
these are just some of the videos available on youtube. if you are really interested, u can go onto youtube and search for konapun!
this set of toy does not only mimic the whole cooking process of the food, it also makes sounds and different effects for example when you deep fry food or pan fry it. it is AMAZING! this will be something to buy when i go to Japan soon! i will make sure i buy one of every set! HEHEHE anyone else wants to buy this??
p.s. it is not edible and the 'food' actually rots after awhile
pps. stay tuned for another post on popin cookin'! something similar to konapun but its edible!!!
Konapun feast
konapun cooking set
New Year! A Fresh Start!
Hey all those who frequent our blog! (yes all 10 of you XD) thanks for view our post during 2010! Stay tuned for exciting recipes, posts are review which are coming up. sorry for the lack of posting over the last few months. Been busy with such and such. XP
Any way, look forward to our Mandarin Orange Creme Brulee recipe coming right up!. ( Another good way to use those many carton of oranges!)
Peace!
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