Fermented Soybeans (any else eat these?)

[gigantalor]

Anyone like fermented soybeans?

Recently, I tried this, and it was pretty good. It's fermented black soybeans with chilis. It's a Chinese condiment. To me, it tasted kinda like buffalo wings.

Thinking about trying natto (Japanese fermented soybeans) sometime. Supposedly, it's high in vitamins (especially K, which is missing from western diets). But it's also an acquired taste.

Is it anything like the Chinese beans? I've heard it has kind of an ammonia smell, so I'm wondering if I'll like it.

Anyone have any experiences/comments/recipes for any of these?

 

[esotamoc]

natto is ok but it feels like chewing snot. great with sushi

 

[NSX-R]

Tried natto for the first time at Denny's of all places in Tokyo. It wasn't a terrible experience; the first two seconds of chewing was pleasant enough, then the full-on flavor hit me immediately afterward. It's a bit messy cause the sticky strings are as tough to handle as spiderwebs.

 

[Henry Swanson]

I tried natto a couple of years ago fully expecting the worst. And it ended up being worse than expected. It wasn't so much the taste as it was the smell and the texture.

 

[Yodsanan]

Natto is horrible.

 

[Doughbelly]

natto is ok but it feels like chewing snot. great with sushi

Wasn't aware of what the the texture of snot was, but good to know.

TS:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermented_bean_paste

Literally dozens, if not hundreds of varieties and ways to eat it. As a condiment, as a soup base, as marinade, etc.

 

[madizm2]

I've heard it has kind of an ammonia smell, so I'm wondering if I'll like it.

I don't think it smells like ammonia at all, it smells worse.

 

[ralphc1]

I've seen cattle bloat from eating rotten soybeans. I've never tried it.

 

[koolinkunming]

Lao Gan Ma!!!! I love this stuff. Delicious. There's another kind too that's not made with beans but chilies and other spices. Used to eat this all the time in China. I go to Asian markets to get it now. Drooooooolllll.

The one under it is really good too if it's done right, and there's a Chinese version too. Dunno if it tastes the same as the Japanese one though.

 

[korean blood]

I don't mind it if it's into a soup

 

[Fugazy]

In America, we call that garbage.

 

[These Two Hands]

If it's the same kind as they use in that Beef in Black Bean Sauce at Chinese restaurants then yes.

I make a lot of fermented foods at home, sauerkraut, piccalili, kimchi, salamis, lacto-fermented hot sauce and so on but never made my own fermented soy beans; have to do some of those sometimes soon.

 

[koolinkunming]

In America, we call that garbage.

I lol'd

 

[Doughbelly]

If it's the same kind as they use in that Beef in Black Bean Sauce at Chinese restaurants then yes.

Yep, that's one type of fermented soy bean sauce.

I make a lot of fermented foods at home, sauerkraut, piccalili, kimchi, salamis, lacto-fermented hot sauce and so on but never made my own fermented soy beans; have to do some of those sometimes soon.

Most people don't realize this but the same process that produces most types of fermented soybean paste is also what produces soy sauce. It's not difficult to do, but the problem is that it takes weeks to months and you don't know if you've made a good batch until the really smelly part of boiling your fermented beans, which is notoriously aromatic. Good batches smell good (like soy sauce) while bad batches smell quite literally like shit.

The runoff from making the paste is soy sauce, or the remnant sludge from making soy sauce is fermented bean paste, depending on how you look at it.

 

[koolinkunming]

^ I watched a documentary about that once. Interesting stuff. Fermented tofu is delicious too.

 

[Doughbelly]

^ I watched a documentary about that once. Interesting stuff. Fermented tofu is delicious too.

My Japanese grandmother used to make them at home in both the Japanese and Korean styles with my mother and my aunts. I remember watching them make it when visiting as a little kid, but when I was older she wasn't making as much. 3/4 of the sisters remember how to do it old school style, but it didn't stick with one of them. She can barely boil water and has to beg all the fermented stuff off of the other sisters.

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

Natto is really really good for you. It has stuff (nattokinase) in it that literally eats the hardened plaque from your arteries, opening up and lessening blockages and reversing arterial damage. I haven't heard of anything else that can do that. Look it up

Nattokinase can also be extracted and is available in pill form.

 

[koolinkunming]

My Japanese grandmother used to make them at home in both the Japanese and Korean styles with my mother and my aunts. I remember watching them make it when visiting as a little kid, but when I was older she wasn't making as much. 3/4 of the sisters remember how to do it old school style, but it didn't stick with one of them. She can barely boil water and has to beg all the fermented stuff off of the other sisters.

My ex's mom could make that fermented bean curd in the clay pots, with the chilies. I'd love to put some of that in my rice and whatever dish we had. Great stuff.

 

[These Two Hands]

Natto is really really good for you. It has stuff (nattokinase) in it that literally eats the hardened plaque from your arteries, opening up and lessening blockages and reversing arterial damage. I haven't heard of anything else that can do that. Look it up

Nattokinase can also be extracted and is available in pill form.

Is this legit? Sounds pretty awesome if it is...