A submission to the August 2011 J-Festa with the theme “Food in Japan“.

Nattō is a Japanese superfood that is centuries old. It is long recognized as one of Japan’s most unique traditional health foods and has been a staple source of Japanese nutrition since feudal Japan. Nattō is a powerful smelling, strong flavoured, sticky web of fermented soybeans that is highly nutritious and rich in protein and typically served with a Japanese breakfast over rice.

Image source: Flickr

Historically nattō was made by packing steamed soybeans in a bed of rice straw and leaving it in a warm place to ferment. A bacteria in the straw, bacillus subtilis natto, feeds off the beans, and turns them into a slimy stinking goop held together by sticky spider-webish strands with a pungent odor. Nowadays the specialized fermentation process that enhances the nutrition of the soybeans and develops the unique flavor and glutinous texture is triggered in commercial factories using sterile conditions and clean cultures.

There are many stories that claim the origin of nattō, legend has it that the process was discovered by accident when a group of soldiers who fell under attack quickly packed up their cooked soybeans in straw and carried them into battle as rations. When the hungry warriors finally sat down to eat, the beans had rotted. Having no other food to consume and being famished from battle they ate the rancid beans and the rest, they say, is history.

Opinion on the palatability of nattō is split. You either love it or hate it. It’s appearance and taste is sometimes compared to Vegemite in Australia, blue cheese in France, surströmming in Sweden, lutefisk in Norway and Sweden, mämmi in Finland and Marmite in New Zealand, South Africa and the UK.

If you think that this is weird then check out 10 Weird Japanese Foods for more bizarre morsels of Japanese culinary strangeness such as raw horse meat, aquatic insects, grasshoppers, bee larvae and more. If you are not that adventurous, then check out 10 Cool Japanese Foods for a delicious selection of Japanese fare.

Ramen noodles, a divine religious experience in Japan with followers congregating in houses of worship called ramenya (ramen shop) to perform acts of praise, honour and devotion to hand-crafted noodles and accompaniments in an intensely flavourful broth.

Ippudo (一風堂) is a reputable franchise for quality noodling in the Fukuoka tradition. First opened in Hakata in 1985 with a counter seating capactiy of 10, Ippudo has grown to 34 locations throughout Japan with outposts in New York and Singapore. Shigemi Kawahara, who earned the title of Ramen King in 2005 when he was named Japan’s top Ramen Chef, directs and oversees this well known entity.

Ippudo Ramen Ebisu

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Ice cream is also a popular dessert in Japan, according to a 2007 survey, with almost two in five adults consuming it at least once a week. Many Japanese regions attempt to cash in on local delicacies by producing ice creams that incorporate their tastes. Following is a list of ten weird Japanese ice cream flavours.

1. Chicken Wing Ice Cream 「手羽先アイス」

This foul tasting ice cream is a regional specialty of Nagoya, famous for its poultry. Don’t be chicken, give it a go.

2. Whale Ice Cream 「鯨アイス」

Scientific evidence collected by Japan’s Whale Research Program can be consumed as ice cream helping to wash down your well-researched whale burger.

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