Nattou omelet 納豆オムレツ

For some time, I have wanted to make “nattou” omelet 納豆オムレツ but, somehow, I did not have a chance to make it. I was also a bit hesitant thinking my wife might not like it since it is after all “nattou”. I am sure people may have a different recipes but I went for the simplest one I could find. I just prepared the nattou, mixed in eggs and cooked it. The picture shows one serving.



I prepared the nattou (this happened to be “hikiwari nattou” 引き割り納豆 from Hokkaido.) in the usual fashion with mustard, chopped scallion and the seasoning liquid that came with the nattou package. Using my special nattou stirrer, I mixed well to reduce the smell of nattou (#1 below). I mixed in two eggs and beat it well. I seasoned the egg mixture with a little bit of sugar and salt.

I put a small amount of vegetable oil in my non-stick square frying pan on medium-low flame. When the pan and oil were hot, I poured the egg mixture in all at once (#2). As the bottom started to set, I gradually started rolling but to make sure the egg mixture did not flow back. I had to pull back the half rolled omelet so the uncooked egg mixture spread out and came in contact with the bottom of the pan. Then I just continued rolling until everything incorporated in the roll (#3). The roll had come together quite well so I did not need to further shape it (#4). I sliced it into 6 equal portions and served 3 per serving.

This was  a "mikey likes it" moment. This might not have been my wife's favorite but she said she liked it. Cooked nattou is less sticky and appears to be more palatable to my wife's Western palate. Encouraged by this, I may make more "cooked" nattou dishes!

Marinated chiai nattou with egg yolk 卵黄入り血合い納豆

I made this dish from the two portions of chiai 血合い (one from the toro block and the other from top loin block) which was marinated over night. This dish may be rather challenging for most Westerners and even for some Japanese. Again,I have posted this before. You could add more soy sauce and put it over rice. We just had this as a drinking snack.

Once the chiai was prepared, the rest was rather easy. I used one small individual package of nattou 納豆 (frozen, made from organic soy beans from Hokkaido,-of course). After thawing the nattou, I mixed in fine chopped scallion, seasoning (tare) and the mustard that came with the nattou and mixed rather vigorously for a few minutes using my favorite nattou mixing contraption. I then separated one egg (As before I used a safe pasteurized egg for this). I added the cubes of marinated chiai and the egg yolk and mixed well. I just garnished it with the finely chopped green part of the scallion.

The gamey strong taste of chiai was a good match for nattou and the egg yolk binds all flavors. I admit this may be the acquired taste.

To clean the palate, I then served tuna sashimi as seen below. This time, I had very fatty tuna (ootro) from the previous night as well as medium fatty tuna (chutoro) and red meat (akami) from the top loin block I prepared this evening. As a garnish, especially since it is the year of the snake, I made snake belly cut mini cucumber or "jabara" 蛇腹 which was soaked in salted water and then seasoned with sushi vinegar (or I could used sweet vinegar). I served it with a tomato rose.

The quality of tuna was very good. Nothing really beats good blue fin tuna.

Natto, avocado and tofu on Belgian endive チコリの納豆、豆腐とアボカドの乗せ

Sometimes, what we have dictates what I can make. I bought 4 avocados last weekend but all of them were now quite ripe. If I missed this moment of avocado perfection, they would become mushy, start developing blemishes in a hurry and guacamole would be inevitable. Of course, just nanoseconds before this moment, they were rock hard. In fact, two of them had passed into guacamole land. Another graced a sandwich for the next day's lunch. I made this dish from the last avocado. I came up with this dish since I happened to have a small container of Otokomae tofu and frozen natto in the freezer. In addition, my wife, after many years of abstention, has now come around to eating natto.

This is a simple spur-of-the-moment quick dish. Did I tell you I also had Belgian endive? (which is called "Chikori" or chicory in Japan. Chicory in the U.S. usually means a root of this plant which is used as a coffee substitute or additives).

In any case, this is not a recipe. I just prepared nattou as usual using the seasoning liquid and mustard packets that came with the natto. I just added chopped scallion and mixed it using my nattou mixing contraption well. I removed the stone, skin and cubed the avocado and dressed it with lemon juice and placed the pieces on the endive leaves. I added a few small scoops of soft otokomae tofu and placed a dab of real wasabi on top. Just before eating, we sprinkled on soy sauce and mixed with a small spoon. We ate this with our fingers; picking up the endive leaves. (A word of advice: Start eating from the soft tip of the leaves, otherwise, the leaves will not hold the contents. You do not want to spill nattou on your shirt).

This is not bad at all. The combination of avocado, silken tofu, and nattou is remarkably good. With nattou, sake is the recommended libation.

Tuna "chiai" natto with egg yolk 血合いの漬け卵黄いり納豆

This is a variation of "Tuna and natto" or マグロ納豆. After I removed chiai 血合い from the tuna block we got, instead of throwing it out (I never tasted chiai of tuna in Japan but I never got to clean the tuna block, either), I usually make this dish or a type of soup with grilled scallion. Chiai is very dark red and has a very gamy strong taste and is certainly the least desirable portion of tuna.

After removing the chiai, I cut it into small chunks and marinaded it overnight in the refrigerator in a mixture of concentrated noodle dipping sauce (2x concentrated) with 1/3 the amount of sake (or a mixture of mirin, sake, and soy sauce 1:1:2 ratio).  After soaking overnight or for 24 hours, I drained the marinade and placed the cubes of marinated chiai in a  bowl. I prepared one small package of natto (for two servings) in my usual way but this time I added an egg yolk (of course, I used a pasteurized shell egg especially since we are in the middle of a big egg recalls due to Salmonella contamination). The addition of the egg yolk gives a very nice and much richer taste and texture. It is still "slimy" or becomes even slimier. (Great dish for Japanese in August)

This is usually not for Westerners but my wife likes it (it did take a long time before she could eat let alone enjoy natto). This dish needs cold sake to wash it down.

Natto soba 納豆蕎麦

Several things came together to inspire me to make this dish. First the cover picture on the cookbook "Takashi's Noodles" triggered the memory of a similar dish I occasionally had for lunch at a Soba restaurant in downtown Sapporo. Second, it has been really hot and muggy here--the kind of weather that calls for cold soba.  In Japan, soba is a very popular lunch item and there are many restaurants specializing in soba and they do a brisk business during lunch. The combination of cold soba topped with natto 納豆 is rather classic and called "Natto soba" 納豆蕎麦 which was one of my favorites. I made this as a "shime" dish one night and found out my wife never had this before.

This is not a recipe per se since this is just a plate of soba and various garnishes which happened to include natto. A raw egg yolk usually accompanies this dish. Raw or undercooked eggs here in the U.S. are always iffy because of the potential for Salmonella contamination. We use "free-ranging" and "organic" brown eggs for dishes that are not fully cooked or have runny yolks. We do not know, however, if there is scientific or statistical evidence that these eggs are indeed safer than regular supermarket white eggs. (P.S. I found an article indicating that there is a lower risk of salmonella contamination in organic and free ranging eggs, although the risk is not zero. I also found that pasteurized shell eggs* are going to be available more widely in very near future.) We have been eating soft boiled eggs, poached eggs, and sunny side ups for many years and so far, (knock on wood) we have not experienced any ill effects. This time I used egg yolks from  "Onsen tamago" 温泉卵, which I made from the brown eggs.  This is a very peculiar Japanese way of cooking eggs, which, I am sure, I can describe in more details in a separate post.

I cooked dried soba noodle as per package instructions and washed them in cold running water and drained. I diluted a bottled noodle (concentrated) sauce in cold water to my liking. Natto was prepared my usual way. Other garnishes include thinly sliced (on bias) scallion , dried bonito flakes, thin strips of nori and an egg yolk from the onsen tamago. Just before eating, I poured on the dipping sauce. I took a dab of  wasabi and worked it in by mixing all the items well. This is a perfect dish for hot summer days. By the way, my wife, who is not a card-carrying member of the Natto fan club, liked this dish.


* P.S. 2: We found Davidson's Pasteurized shell eggs in our neighborhood market (one we have not been before). I will have a separate post for the pasteurized shell eggs in the near future.

Tuna sashimi with natto マグロ納豆

We got a 2 lb of block of fresh tuna, sashimi grade, from Catalina Offshore Products (2 lb is the minimum you can order for sashimi-grade fresh tuna). It has ootoro 大トロ, chutoro 中トロ, and a portion called 'chiai" 血合い. You have to first remove the skin and chiai, and then, block out these portions to rectangular blocks called 'saku" 冊 from which sashimi pieces can be cut. In other words, you have to know how to separate these portions to prepare the tuna block from Catalina. After I make the sashimi blocks, I wrap it using kitchen parchment paper, then using a paper towel. I put them in a Ziploc bag and put them back in the Styrofoam container in which the tuna came, add more ice gel packages, which I keep in the freezer, on the top. I put the entire Styrofoam box in our spare refrigerator. This appears to be the best way to keep these sashimi and the ice gels will not totally melt for 5 days or more. I can safely keep them up to 3 days. You could get frozen toro instead, which is easier to prepare since only toro is included, although you have to thaw it. We also tried the frozen toro and the quality is very good.

Chiai is at the edge of chutoro and looks very dark red. If you taste it as sashimi, it has an unpleasant bitter taste. Rather than throwing away this portion, it can be made it to a dish you can enjoy. I decided to make, maguro-natto using natto 納豆; one of the dreaded among Japanese food items.

I cut the chiai portion into small (1/2 to 1/3 inch) cubes and marinated in soy sauce, sake, and mirin mixture (2:1:1). You could add grated ginger (which I did not). I got enough chiai from the 2 lb block for two servings (probably about 100 grams or a bit less than 1/4 lb). I marinate over night in the refrigerator.

Next day just before serving, I prepare a small package (individual serving) of natto as I described before with a sauce and mustard included in the package and using my special mixing apparatus. Add thinly sliced scallion (1/3 to 1/2 scallion) and keep mixing (the longer you mix, the less the odor).

I place the cubes of marinated (excess liquid drained and pat dry) chiai in the bottom of a small bowl, top them with natto and garnish with thin strips of nori. It is rather strong flavored but it is good. This is not a high class food but it is perfect for Izakaya. You have to have this with sake.  Again, even my wife enjoyed this dish. Of course you could make this dish using a regular akami 赤身 (red) tuna or, for that matter, any parts of tuna. I would not marinate or marinate for a shorter time if you use better quality portions of tuna.

Squid sashimi with mountain potato and fermented soy beans 長芋のイカ納豆

Japanese appear to like slimy food. Often, Japanese recipes call for not just one but a multiple of slimy ingredients in one dish. This dish called for squid sashimi, mountain yam or "naga-imo" 長芋, and fermented soybean "natto" 納豆. All have a rather slimy texture. This dish probably qualifies to appear on the "Bizarre food" TV show. In any case, I saw this recipe on line. I happened to have all the ingredients and decided to make this dish. 

Squid sashimi was the pre-made frozen kind you find in a freezer case at a Japanese grocery store. I am sure it is treated with something before being frozen. I used one package (probably two servings) and one package of Natto 納豆. Natto is a difficult food to like especially for Westerners. Even among Japanese, some love it and some hate it. I already mentioned how my wife started enjoying natto. ("enjoy" may not be a right word, may be "tolerate" is a better choice.) Here, I used "hikiwari" natto 挽き割り納豆 in which whole soybeans are finely chopped. I used the same precautions I use to prepared natto with my special natto stirrer, which I also mentioned before. I just prepare the natto using the mustard and sauce that came with the natto package. The last ingredient was a mountain yam or "naga imo" (I mentioned several times in the past postings). I used a 2 inch long, 3 inch across (approximate) piece, peeled the skin, and cut into 1/2 inch wide sticks. I placed these in a zip-lock plastic bag and added 1-2 tbs of sushi vinegar. Do not seal the opening completely and hold the opening up (to prevent the bag from rupturing and the contents from spilling out in the next step), pound the naga-imo with a fist or a small rolling pin so that part of it remains chunky and part of it is mashed. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. I added wasabi and a concentrated (x2) noodle sauce that comes in a bottle (or you could make it yourself) or use just a straight soy sauce to adjust the seasoning. Garish with chopped scallion and perilla leaves.

It was indeed very slimy but the natto did not have a strong smell. I sort of liked it and even my wife finished the dish and she said she did not dislike it (delicately put). Since all the ingredients are slimy, it sort of worked. The only drink that goes with this dish appears to be sake.

Fried tofu stuffed with Raclette cheese きつねラクレット

Fried tofu stuffed with Raclette cheese きつねラクレット (Mark's book P80)

This is the recipe from Mark's book (p80) and is a variation of a classic dish. In the classic, tofu pouches "abrura-age"  油揚げ are stuffed with "natto" 納豆, which I posted previously. This version use Raclette cheese. It is remarkably good and simple to make. I did not have prunes in our pantry, so I could not make the "prunes cooked in wine" which was the suggested accompaniment for this dish in the recipe.

Just briefly reiterate the recipe from the book, stuff a tofu pouch (small "inari" 稲荷 version works best) with slices of Raclette cheese and finely chopped white parts of scallions. Toast it in a toaster oven until the tofu pouch becomes nicely brown and crunchy and the cheese has melted. Garnish with finely chopped green parts of scallions and serve while it is hot. I used bit of a soy sauce, in addition.  Althouhg we like the classic version with "natto", this one is very very good. It is amazing how well melted Raclett cheese and toasted tofu pouch go together. This will be great with wine either white or red.

Chilled Tofu 冷や奴

Chilled Tofu 冷や奴 (Mark's book p16)
Deep fried tofu pouch stuffed with Natto 油揚げの納豆はさみ

This is a very simple and also classic summertime dish in Izakaya. One of the problems with this dish is to get good quality fresh tofu, which is sometimes not so easy in Untied States. Although, packaged tofu like those from Nasoya is available in any grocery store, they are not really suited for this dish. When I lived in Japan, there were still stores selling tofu made fresh daily (this may reveal my age). Now even in Japan, these small individually owned artisanal tofu stores are extremely rare if any survive. Fortunately, there are some Japanese Tofu companies making good quality tofu in the US. The one I am using here today is from Kyo-zen-an  京禅庵 which is a Kyoto company making tofu and tofu-related products. As I understand, from their website, they have been making tofu in New Jersey from USDA certified organic American soy beans using an authentic traditional method of tofu making. The tofu is packaged and pasteurized. It lasts much longer than the old fashioned style block of tofu which was scooped from a large vat of cold water; the day it was made was the day it was consumed. I found that this brand is good enough for this dish. There are several other good ones but they are all only available in a Japanese grocery store. I used their silken tofu.

The toppings for this dish usually include chopped scallion, perilla, bonito flakes, and thin strips of dried "nori" sheet and grated ginger root. Pour soy sauce over before eating. I actually prefer to use "sashimi soy sauce" or "concentrated soup base for Japanese noodles"; both can be bought in a Japanese grocery store. Again, you must be a chopstick jedi to eat this without the help of a spoon.

Deep fried tofu pouch stuffed with Natto 油揚げの納豆はさみ

I made this dish closely following the classic recipe using a few modifications of my own. Mark's book has an interesting modern variation.  In his version the tofu pouch is stuffed with cheese rather than "natto" (p80), which I have not tried yet. Natto 納豆 or fermented soy beans is one of the Japanese foods difficult to like because of the smell and sticky texture. Every culture appears to have this type of fermented food. Very ripe and runny cheeses from France, Vegemite from Australia, Surströmming from Sweden and so on. Only people who grew up eating this type of food will like it or can eat it. My wife, who is not Japanese but who enjoys almost any Japanese delicacy including some very challenging ones such as a sea cucumber, would not eat "natto" for many years. She did not like it at all. Then, my mother told us some years ago that if you stir it more than 100 or 400 times (I am not sure how many times exactly), the smell will dissipate and becomes easier to eat (she saw this technique on one of the Japanese TV programs). So I tried this method and, now, my wife will eat natto especially when used in this dish.

Natto used to come frozen from Japan but now we see non-frozen natto. I am not sure if these are made here or still imported from Japan. The one I used appears to be made in Japan. If you read Japanese, you may want to check the blog/column in Nippon Keizai Shinbun web site...interesting discussion and information about natto and the regional differences in how natto is prepared. There are quite a few natto recipe sites (all in Japanese) and here is one example. Some of the recipes are quite outrageous! This year, while in Japan, we acquired a special stirrer designed for mixing natto and it is pictured here.

The two prongs are slightly different in length with their tips shaped like scoops and surface has many small round protrusions as seen here in the picture. This works much better than the usual bamboo chopsticks. This device aerates natto very well without much effort. Add mustard, chopped scallion, and the sauce that came with the package (or use your own mustard and sauce if you like). As a kid, I remember preparing natto with the addition of a bit of sugar. Apparently using sugar in natto is done in only certain parts of Japan. These dialects of food culture in Japan, specifically about natto preparation, has been extensively discussed in the blog/column I mentioned above.  Mix vigorously for few minutes. Meanwhile prepare the "abura-age"油揚げ or fried tofu pouch. We get a small "inari" 稲荷 version frozen.  (This is for making "inarizushi", seasoned tofu pouch stuffed with vinegared rice). Pour hot water over it in a colander. This will thaw the pouch and remove some excess oil. Press it between paper towels to remove excess water. Cut one end (leaving three edges intact) and carefully open the pouch. Spoon in the prepared natto. Do not over fill and pat it flat. Place it in a toaster oven and toast until both sides get brown and crispy. You could then just serve with bit of soy sauce. (You could do this dish using a frying pan with small amount of oil but a toaster oven works better. Be careful not to spill the natto inside the taster oven though, it will make a big mess.)  I took mine out of the toaster oven when it is 80% done.

On one side of the stuffed tofu pouch, spread a thin layer of the mixture of mayonnaise and citrus miso I made for the simmered daikon dish (in equal amounts) with chopped perilla mixed in.  Put the pouch back in the toaster oven until the surface browns (a few minutes). I am glad my wife likes to eat even this dish now.