Day 8: Karashi and soy

Went out with some guys from the shamisen group tonight after practice, so I didn’t get home till 11:45 or so.  I decided to take it as a challenge to see just how quickly I could eat the natto. Two or three minutes later, I was staring at an empty natto pack and a fairly unexpected result.

Now it might just be the new brand of natto I’m trying out, a lovely Kyushu local variety, but tonight’s shot of beanie goodness was…good?  Either this brand just tastes more like beans, or I’ve gotten so used to the slimy and bitter parts of natto that I’m starting to notice the other flavors that have always been there.  It’s encouraging.

Day 9: Strangely sweet dressing, prepackaged with new brand

A friend was over and I explained my perverse desire to get used to natto. His favorite preparation was with soy sauce, and nothing else added, which might explain why he also said that the dressing that comes with this new stuff would be good. To be fair, it wasn’t bad, but man was it ever sweet.

Also I apparently still look like I am going to die while eating natto. My subconscious is still grimacing.

Day 10: Soy, mustard

Another shot of the late night natto, but I think I’m pretty well used to the stuff by now, so I can start adding it in in the morning and seeing how it holds up.  Japanese TV is apparently on my side on this one, as there was a feature about how natto with cheese is apparently famous in some prefecture or another. Tomorrow perhaps?  They also made natto cheese toast, which I think is also worth a shot. It seems strangely palatable…

Day 11: The usual fare

Natto is officially a viable breakfast food.  I have so many people I need to thank.

Also if you will turn your attention to the rear-right you will see the first of the island passion fruit which is just coming into season, served with some yogurt.  Ah, the perks of island life.

Day 12: Oh no!

So I went out diving with an English teacher from the next island over who is occasional forced to fly to Kikai and teach, and spent the whole day underwater, sightseeing, and eating wild boar feet (complete with just a little bit of boar hair, mmmm). I just didn’t want to make the run all the way out to the supermarket that’s still open at 11 at night.  So Day 12 was a natto-free day.

OH NO!!! Is this the end of natto as we know it?  I mean, I have pretty clearly stated that I need to be eating it every day, regardless of circumstances, so by this rubric I just failed and need to go sell all my possessions, retreat into seclusion in a mountain monastery, and spend my days in quiet reflection of just how much of a failure I am.

Well, no. At times like this, it’s important to remember that my actual goal is to get used to natto, not to eat it for 30 days. Eating it for 30 days is just the means I chose to get to this goal.  Short term failure does not equal long term failure. In fact, I would argue quite the opposite: short term failure is often necessary for long term success.  We learn so much more when we fail.  For example, I have learned to buy in bulk. I have also learned it’s better to eat it in the morning if I can, since I should eat some breakfast anyway and it’s an easy time to make sure I get it done.

Day 13: Cheese, parsley

As per the recommendation of a Japanese tv show.  The cheese is pretty much entirely masked by the natto, but the parsley is kind of present.  All in all not one of my favorite ways to eat the stuff.  Mustard and soy is still a heavy favorite.

Day 14: Natto Toast!

Saw this one on the same show which recommended yesterday’s recipe. I honestly don’t get it though. Natto+cheese just tastes like extra slimy natto. Natto plus melted cheese doubly so.  Even the flavor of the toast is hard pressed to shine through all the natto funkitude.  However for those of you who have never seen Japanese bread, there’s a hearty inch-thick slice of it lying under all the goo.

Sliced Japanese bread gives me the general impression that the first people to manufacture such bread in Japan did so with a good deal of guess work.  It’s like a lot of the “western” inspired food over here. Vaguely resembling the original in theory, but uniquely Japanese in reality. If one were to describe them they would both seem to be a thing called “bread”, all the essential descriptors are there, and yet the Japanese version possesses unique qualities that would prevent anyone from mistaking it for the thing on which it is based.

Final Thoughts for the Week

As much fun as I’m sure you’re all having of the blow-by-blow, I think I’m going to write the next 2 weekly updates in summary fashion.  See which way feels better.  Plus there is certainly a point of diminishing returns to “photos of natto slime”. I think you get the point.

I’ve got some other posts I’ve started working on, but the weekly projects keeps the blog present in my tragically disorganized mind. I know reading about natto may not be exactly what you’re looking for if you fall into the “family” section of the readership, or the “friends who do not have an unhealthy obsession with Japan” section of the readership, but stick around. Other things in the works.  Besides, you know you that while you are overtly disgusted you are secretly fascinated.

You want to run out and try it right now.