Natto, America's most feared japanese culinary import

Growing up in northern California, I was very lucky to have been exposed to various cuisines and foods- of which my favorite was always Japanese. As I'd been going there since I was a wee tot, the sushi chef at our most frequented restaurant called me "sushi baby", and was always shouted as a greeting upon my entrance. It wasn't until my high school years that I started to branch out into Japanese cuisine outside of the American-Japanese restaurant staple of sushi and tempura. I was on break from boarding school staying at a friend's house in Michigan when one morning she started making us breakfast. Being half-Japanese, she often prepared the typical Japanese breakfast of miso soup, fish, rice, and what I now lovingly know as 'natto'. Natto is stinky ambrosia sent from the gods, but only if you can see, or smell, past its rather pungent scent- it is, after all fermented soy beans. Not that they're rotting, come on. We in the western cultures eat tons of things that are fermented: yogurt, sauerkraut, real (not processed) cheeses, pickles, beer, wine, etc.

Natto can be warmed up and served on top of Japanese rice (short grain sticky rice). You can choose to flavor it with the tsuyu (a yummy japanese dipping sauce often served with soba noodles) and karashi (hot mustard) packets that come in individually sized containers. Scallions or green onion add nice flavor and texture, as well as color to the dish. You can enjoy natto this way, or also in easy to make sushi- just lay sushi rice down atop a full size nori (seaweed) sheet and then dole out the natto in a line down the middle. Roll that baby up with a sushi mat and enjoy- no need to cut it into pieces- you can enjoy it handroll style. (That way you non dexterous chopstick users need not embarass yourselves. :D)

The taste of natto differs from person to person; to some, including me, the smell is wonderful, nutty, and maybe even a little cheesy. "Foreigners", or gaijin, notoriously find natto to be revolting. The smell might be intolerable- too pungent and smelling of fermentation- granted the aroma tends to diffuse a bit throughout the household. Sarah, the other dirtyspoon, is also half Japanese. She has told me that her dad, who is American, can't even be in the same room when the rest of the family is eating natto and refers to them as "stinkybeans". And I've also heard that some weirdos believe it to be bland, or have no flavor at all.

The consistency is quite unique; the beans look whole, but actually melt together at the slightest touch, and have a sticky consistency, and spiderweb-like strings appear when you pierce the glob of beans with chopsticks. It's a little tricky to eat, but eating it with rice helps, as the natto sticks and melds with it.

If you are daring enough to try Japan's most avoided dish, let us know and send us links to your pictures so we can publish them! Once you have mastered eating, and hopefully appreciating, this controversial fare, I guarantee you will earn the respect of any native Japanese person and will probably receive some looks, as I have, of pure amazement!