Natto NukazukeIn a Tea Bag, in a Separate Container from Your Bed

Natto is fermented soybeans, sticky and strong-smelling, and a common Japanese breakfast. Outside Japan, it’s sold frozen at Japanese and Asian grocery stores.

We tried pickling natto in nuka. After a day it was glossy, and the sticky strings seemed much stronger. It picked up a light bran flavor and was surprisingly good.

We used large-bean natto, which was a little under-pickled. Regular small-bean natto should be fine after a day.

Prep	Put in a tea bag and pickle in a container separate from your bed
Pickling time	24–48 hours
After pickling	Keep in the fridge and eat by the next day

Why not to put it in your main bed

Natto bacteria (Bacillus subtilis var. natto) are very strong. They survive heat and drying, and crowd out other microbes. If you put natto in your main bed, it can upset the balance of lactic acid bacteria and change how the bed smells and tastes.

So when you pickle natto, take a little bran out into a separate container, and throw that bran away afterwards instead of returning it to the main bed. Putting the natto in a tea bag or cheesecloth also keeps the smell and stickiness from getting into the bran.

How to make natto nukazuke

1. Take out some bran: Move enough bran to cover the natto into a separate storage container.
2. Put it in a tea bag: Put the natto in an empty tea bag (or cheesecloth) and close it. Don’t add the sauce packet.
3. Pickle: Bury it in the bran and cover with more bran. Put the lid on and keep in the fridge.
4. Take it out: Wipe the bran off the outside of the bag, then open it and empty it into a bowl. Throw the bran away.

From bed to plate

When we wiped off the bran, the natto smell was strong! Using the tea bag was the right call.

How to eat it

• As is: Even without the sauce, the saltiness and savoriness of the bran make it tasty.
• On rice: Top with chopped green onion or daikon sprout nukazuke.

Care for your bed is covered in Caring for a Nuka Bed.