Dry Natto (乾燥なっとう)

Dry NattoThe other day, one of the little elementary kids I watch (for my job) offered me something from her snack box. It was a packet of dry (かんそう) natto. I’d heard about dry natto before, but had never had it. Now, let me stop here and say this: if you don’t know what natto is, I don’t quite have enough time right now to describe it fully, so leave me a comment and I’ll do a separate post. Anyway, for those of you who do know the aquired taste that is natto, let’s continue, shall we?

I stowed the little packet (apparantly saved from a flight on JAL, where they pass them out like peanuts) in my bag so that I could try them after work. Once home, I quickly snapped a few pictured of the packet with my crappy digital camera and then proceeded to chow down. The texture was completely different from that of regular natto–it was very much like eating harder-than-usual peanut and there was none of the normal slime (hence, “dry”). Interestingly enough, the smell was still there. Upon opening the packet, I thought, “Yep. This is natto.”

These are actually a pretty good snack if you don’t have anyone important to talk to afterward (natto-breath, ew). They’re also supposed to go really well with beer, so try them out, if you can find them. I’ve never seen these sold in the US, but they are widely available in Japanese grocery stores, next to the regular natto. JAL also sells them online.

JAL Dry Natto

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  • Onimusha Nosferatu
    i had the wet kind. i think it was kinda good even though it had that modly cheese after taste. the slime is the best part. haha. i don't plan on eating more for a while.
  • Totally understandable. Unlike Erin, I HATE natto; it tastes like gasoline. Though, these dry natto nuts sound okay.
  • You haven't eaten gasoline, and we all know it, so stop being a baby!
  • Wow, that sounds cool! I don't mind natto except for the gooeyness because it gets everywhere and I end up looking like I've been sneezed on. I'll have to track some down when I get to Japan.
  • I'll make a post later sharing my anti-slime secrets, haha.
  • Sexy Beam
    Taking wetness out of natto just seems like... taking away the best part. It's just so much more fun to eat that way, or maybe I'm just childish.
  • I don't think I would mind the wetness of natto so much if I didn't think the strings were getting all over my mouth/chin and making me smell funky.
  • ^_^/ . Most of the time I would be doing this waving motion with my chopsticks... it gets annoying. Kind of like when you eat a really, really cheesy pizza, except the cheese doesn't stick.
  • Ivan
    Ah natto! My friends and I used to buy a lot of them at Korean or Japanese supermarkets and use those spiderweb strings to creep out our parents.
    I tried some of that. I didn't like it as much as the regular ones though. But then again I don't really like natto in general.
  • It's very good for you, though. That's what makes me eat it, haha.
  • Hanako
    I LOVE natto!! My dad and brother aren't too keen on natto, though...they leave the house whenever I or my mom start eating it...wimps. I don't think I've ever been conscious of the smell, EVER. It's really strange...
  • Julia
    Please, inform me about this lovely sounding Natto.
  • I dunno. I don't think I like Natto since it's "fermented" and it's "soy". I mean, I don't even eat tofu.
  • You're missing out by not eating tofu. It's healthy! And you can eat it fried! Try it sometime. I think people should always try to venture out of their comfort zone every once and a while. Might be hard in Indiana, though, from what I hear.

  • I've never tried natto but have read about it a few times in articles. I don't remember why, but it's supposedly really good for you.

    ... No wonder it smells/tastes so bad!
  • エスター
    im surprised ive never seen this before!! im an american practicing japanese and i work in a japanese-styled grocery store part-time, so i often get to try...well pretty much everything from japan, and i also get to see all the different kinds of foods available from japan, either when i stock, or bag groceries~~ive never even heard of dry nattou before!! thanks for the info~

    (slightly off topic)
    the first time i had nattou, i was eating lunch with tenchou-san, and he asked me "nattou! do you eat?" (in english!! lol)
    「まだ食べませんですが食べてみたいですよ!」って言った [sorry if my japanese is weird!!]
    i had read on several american's blogs about their first time eating nattou, and that "it stinks", "the nebu-nebu looks like snot", "its sticky", and "it tastes HORRIBLE"

    "well..." i though, "ive acquired tastes for alot of asian foods that i didnt like at first, many of which stank as well..." (examples that come to mind would be tako, miso soup for the first time, and kimchi?...yah, bad examples...lol, sorry)

    according to the blogs, many americans dont like using the packages of mustard and soy sauce that come in the bags, and the ones who develop a taste for nattou usually add lots of daikon and onions, etc. on top of rice

    tenchou-san of course made the nattou for me, and added the mustard and soy sauce, i tried not to look at it, nor think about the smell, when i put it in my mouth to try it...

    ...

    「やっぱり、マズイ~」と思いました。
    店長さんに「おいしくない」って言った。

    he just laughed at me and got out some paper towels...and then i finished eating the rest of my lunch, (THE SMELL AND TASTE WOULD NOT GO AWAY!!)

    i thanked him for making the meal
    「はい!おごちそうさまです~おいしかったよ!」
    「ハハハハハハッ、なっとうは?」
    「いや、それはちょっと・・・」

    but yes, i want to try it again, and try to develop a taste for it!! next time with lots of daikon and onions. and i also want to try this snack!!
  • Tyler
    It looks like burnt corn puffs. Is it sweet? What is it made out of?
  • Izumi
    I used to dislike the smell of natto ...
    and stay away from it, until my friend
    ask me to try it one day at a restaurant
    and I loved it ever since then ...
    actually if u cook it hot ... it doesn't get
    very stringy like how you eat it out ...
    cause as long as u have it hot or warm it
    is super tasty ... and I love it wet cause
    you can eat it with rice and it taste super
    good ...
  • Fredy
    So I woke up early and am going through random tofugu posts cause I can't go back to sleep...
    I tried it! I tried the natto at my host family's house. My host mother hates it, but she told me to try it. She took a picture. haha. The brother and sister love it. I thought it wasn't too bad. It was an intense taste. I could eat it though... I didn't finish it, it was too much, haha. That is definitely an acquired taste. Needs like... a ton of salt or sugar? I told her that if I was starving, I'd eat it.
  • GJB995
    sounds good. I'm hungry agian.
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