Nattou: One of the dishes "national spirit" of Japan

Nattou: One of the dishes "national spirit" of Japan

When it comes to dish Vietnam, people think of Pho. When talking about Japanese food, many people imagine it's Sushi or Sukiyaki. But actually cook them in terms of history can not be said that representatives of both countries. Noodle dishes just came in about hundred years. And in my opinion, the dishes "national spirit" of the Vietnam's two dishes from the temple: chao and the like made ​​from soybeans. Overall this is two main dishes were accompanied by the people of Vietnam from ancient times until now, of course, today's young people have little chance to see or enjoy them. Also, Sukiyaki only started appearing in Japan in the Meiji period when people imitate Westerners eat beef. One of the soul of Japanese cuisine for hundreds, if not thousands of years and bring much more popular, it is Nattou. In my opinion, one of the most interesting of the morning is a human being sitting at a table eating with a cup of hot white liquor mixed with Nattou and shoyu, beside a bowl of Miso soup. Eating Nattou you know how much food is always the essence of heaven and earth, eat Nattou seems people become more attuned to the universe, stronger, lighter in spirit. These experiences to your own experience ... Nattou is a traditional dish of ethnic Japanese from fermented soybeans and is used in breakfast. This is a rich source of protein with soy miso soup from feudal Japan. Nattou has a flavor and distinctive appearance and is quite popular in Eastern Japan. Those who first opened the box Nattou will have very different reactions because of its odor, comparable to the heavy cheese in Europe or fish sauce, shrimp sauce in Vietnam. Nattou very viscous, moist on the surface of the sauce like silk spider silk. Nattou quite smelly and therefore the first foreigner to eat Nattou or would like to keep it or hate it. I have witnessed Vietnam in the restaurant ordering Nattou (heard too ^ ^) and can not eat. Nattou often used for breakfast with rice and some other ingredients like a bit of cilantro, a little mustard, radish (daikon) ground into flour, eggs and of course indispensable shoyu sauce. I think you can eat with Nattou or without the mustard, but one thing should always be shoyu. Only when it is mixed with shoyu soy fermented smell became more and more delicious flesh. In northern Japan, people still mix with sugar Nattou. We can say 20% of Vietnam's population hates to eat chao made ​​from fermented tofu. And all these people hate the food in Japan because it Nattou viscosity and its characteristic smell. Very difficult to eat. But who can not quit eating it. Especially as the West's Osaka, Kobe is not like Nattou while the East as Tokyo and northern Hokkaido is very popular Nattou. In Japan Nattou also be shared with other dishes such as sushi Nattou, Nattou baked, added to the miso soup, eaten with salads or in dishes Okonomiyaki pancake and spaghetti again. Nattou be dried and the smell is less viscous than light would travel well and can be used as a nutritious dessert. There are also ice-cream dishes nattou again. The feeling of many of Nattou very different, some people find it very strong odor and only a little to make up the smell of food and eating with pasta, cooked rice. Someone found it narrowed music and nothing special. Some people hate it so much that they hate people who eat it! In this regard, Nattou also similar for the French blue cheese dish, dish Haggis in Scotland, Norway Lutefisk dishes and Marmite in the UK. These fermented foods are causing many different reactions in people. Each year in Japan, people consume about 50,000 tons Nattou. To make a bean Nattou people choose small branch to the fermentation process easier. Soybeans were washed and then soaked in water for about 12 ~ 24 hours and this process will increase the size of a pea. Then steamed soybeans were taken about six hours, you can use a pressure cooker to reduce time. Soybeans were mixed with a special solution of salt, sugar, yeast and a bacterium Nattou called Nattou kinase. The difference maker could add or remove different elements to create unique flavors. And from now people will be very careful, to avoid the intrusion of harmful bacteria. This point is quite similar to the way the Vietnamese do the same. Also good or not depends on the type of bacteria inoculated into the park. This process may seem like old people do not control and dependent on luck as much bacteria in the air. According to those who experienced it do the same if this first yellow marker is relatively superior, and black mold is like the worst. There are also many different types of bacteria produce different colors of the same quality also depends on it. soybean and yeast mixtures were incubated at 40 degrees C for more than a day, then it is cooled and in the refrigerator for about a week to Nattou generate viscous fiber. During cold incubation, the bacteria in the beans begin to produce spores and form the amino acid sequence.In the past, people put soy beans steamed in the basket with straw, this is the source of the bacteria naturally Nattou. Then Nattou formed to meet the temperature conditions as favorable as in the ground or near the fire.Nowadays people Nattou mass production and stored in plastic containers and are often sold with a small packet of sauce shoyu and blind mustard yellow, sometimes with the shiso. You can buy Nattou imported from Japan in the Japanese food store on Le Thanh Ton, District 1 City SG for about 3 ~ 5 USD for a box Nattou. Often Nattou always enter a freezer and need to split frozen before use. With the price that ordinary, Eda Kaname he settled on Le Thanh Ton sold a small box with 5.5000 Nattou contract. He married in Vietnam and specialize Nattou by traditional methods and is the main supplier for Nattou Japanese restaurant in Saigon. In Japan, the Kumamoto city and the two famous Mito quality Nattou. The restaurant on Bui Vien also sell rice at low prices Nattou part with about 30,000 VND / share comes with a bowl of Miso soup. Historically, no one knows exactly when Nattou born. But the raw materials and components required for Nattou as soy, men in straw is no wonder in ancient Japan. Because it could be like the ancient Jomon era (circa 10,000 to 300 BC) we know how to do Nattou and also that many people have independently figured out how to do the same Nattou. One other theory and dominant Minamoto Yoshiie minister said the battle in 1083 in the Northeast have found Nattou. One day, the camp's unexpectedly Yoshiie enemy ambush while soldiers are cooked soybeans fed to horses. Amid the chaos, people rushed to the cooked soybeans are bad in the sack of straw and not open for several days. When opened, the beans ferment and smell strange birth. One soldier was very good to try new Yoshiie submitted to Minister and also the general taste strange charm. Another source said Nattou made ​​in the Edo period (1603 ~ 1867) and the processing is changed during the Taisho (1912 ~ 1926) when researchers found a way to extract bacterial kinase Nattou without straw . This discovery has simplified the production process and high efficiency Nattou and food industry has changed much since then. People say Nattou good health based on medical research . In Nattou contains an ingredient called Pyrazine not only create its characteristic smell, but also prevent atherosclerosis. Men Nattou Kinase capacitor helps prevent high blood, heart, embolism and other lung diseases. It also extracts Nattou kinase components for processing food for dieters. Nattou also contains Vitamin K related to the group made ​​up of bone calcium. Vitamin K1 is found in seaweed, liver and some herbs while vitamin K2 is found in fermented foods such as cheese, miso and Nattou. For every 100 g Nattou provides 870 micrograms of vitamin K2.It also contains many chemical components of cancer prevention as daidzein, genistein, Infrabin ... Some sources also say eating Nattou will reduce cholesterol in the body. It also said Nattou works as an antibiotic and the Japanese army had used such drugs Nattou dysentery during World War II. Nattou also help improve digestion, fight aging and obesity. It is also used Nattou food for cats and dogs and it improves the health of the animals significantly. Nattou a unique cuisine of Japan, and the World is made ​​from fermented soybeans. They assess the quality of the fiber length Nattou through viscosity. If taking chopsticks pick up a piece from the cup that the longer the nattou viscous fiber the better. This dish is more nutritious, easy, inexpensive that anyone can do at home, and do not require additional processing when used. Similar to the World Nattou then there are dishes made ​​from fermented soy such as soy sauce, chao Vietnam, tan or kan-shih-shih (tofu not salt) of China, and Joenkuk-jang-jang Damsue of Korea, thuanoa in Thailand, Nepal and the Kinema in Sereh in Bali. But only in Japan, it is widely used new forms of soy is fermented. Refer to Nattou: Nattou the Japanese reading of two kanji, if read as negative Vietnamese Han is a "top up" , ie offering beans, beans on the rise. And the name Nattou probably originated from the temples. From Nattou first appear in the Honcho Shokkan document (1695) and it is the sound of the character variable "Nassho". Nassho from the kitchen only by the Japanese Zen Monastery. Then Nattou be used to distinguish two different types Hama Nattou (we called soybean cake) and itohiki nattou (nattou fiber). From Itohiki Nattou may appear between 13 and 16 century. Nattou is one of the few products made ​​from soy that is named as the correct name of the nationality of it without the "epidemic" in the languages ​​of Europe. Perhaps because in heaven there is one thing Europe is not similar to "service." The word first appeared in German documents into English in 1894 and 1897. Both are researchers in Japan and the Buffalo Yabe written as single word. But no one knows exactly when, but appears Nattou five main theories. Theory which many believe is the Heian period, Hachiman Taro Yoshiie minister called Minamoto Gosannen Yoshiie war in 1083 as mentioned above. Speaking Monday said Nattou derives from Tan-shih dishes made ​​from soybeans in China 2000 years ago and then transmitted to Japan by a Buddhist monk and develop Nattou blind. Speaking Tuesday said that the Yayoi Nattou appear (circa 300 BC ~ 200 AD), the many changes in agriculture and other ingredients to make Nattou are available in nature. In the Yayoi period is Tateana home cooked food on the stove kamado middle, and old, then where is that straw. Japanese use it for roofing, woven tatami mats, as the specific components in the temple ... And maybe a straw fell into the pot of cooked soy beans without the lid up or a pea fell straw mats and the next day Nattou formed. The study of history Nattou Teruo Ota believes that when people give up beans Shinto god of the temple is a random string of shimenawa straw (straw twine expression of the separation between the secular world and divine) went into cup beans. So this new dish called "bean loaded." Speaking Wednesday said the origin of the dish Hikiwari Nattou, double split peas in the northern provinces such as Akita, Aomori. In the past people often split beans in half to save cooking time and fuel. Thursday theories related to Prince Shotoku (which many U.S. known as Saint German), a nobleman sages have devoted great in bringing Buddhism to Japan and the celebrity culture of Japan. One day on the road through the valley of Omi, Prince rethink Warado village, a region famous for soybeans. Prince for horses fed bad food cooked beans, wrapped in straw and hanging tree branches. The next day, the beans become Nattou and he loves the taste of it. Since then the villagers produce many Nattou and renamed the village of Warazuto Mura (village straw package). But Teruo Ota also suggests Prince has learned to make fermented beans from a friend, Keiji, a Korean Buddhist monk. But different but all have a common Nattou theory are: it occurs in northeastern Japan! (Hiba - Posted Acmagiro)