A word of
warning. While it is brewing, this stuff smells like a morgue in a power
outage during a heat wave. It attracts the flies more than a left over
snag at a bush BBQ on still summer’s day! The smell was sufficient to
keep my wife awake overnight even after shutting all the doors. I now
have set up a Meth lab in the laundry to help eradicate smell and flies.
I use Chickpeas
as I have not been able to find Organic Soy Natto and most soy from Asia, I
believe, comes from USA which is GMO. The smaller Chickpeas are supposed
to be better for fermenting. Black Turtle Beans also add a variance to
dietary intake.
Below are videos
by Natto Dad, who from my research, has got the process down to a
“T”. My steps below are slightly different, to cater for my
available of equipment and differences in ambient room temperatures. Hot
here as opposed to Japan!
Steps:-
1.
Soak 1 packet McKenzie Chickpea or Turtle Bean (375g) for 12 hours or so.
2.
Unfreeze prepacked or previous home made culture of Natto.
3.
Warm soaked beans by steaming without pressure (5 mins) then steam (not boil)
in pressure cooker for 40 mins (30 mins for blackbeans).
4.
Sterilise with boiling water two desert spoons for stirring and preparing,
together with the glass container in which fermentation will occur.
5.
Remove beans from pressure cooker. Drain beans and add to glass
container.
6.
Pour over some of the pressure cooker liquid to the beans and then drain from
the glass, keeping the beans moist. (Helps fermentation process)
7.
Add prepacked Natto or previous home made culture to warm beans. I use
the full 45g/package, others use less.
8.
Stir the Natto into the beans, ensuring every bean is inoculated. Use
three desert spoons of pressure cooker liquid to help the process.
9.
Cover bean mix with toothpick pricked Cling Wrap and place it firmly on the
beans to retain moisture.
10.
Cover the bowl again with toothpick pricked Cling Wrap and place it firmly
around the rim of the bowl to create an airpocket. I use moist muslin or
cheese cloth for this.
11.
In an oven (thaw), dehydrator or air fryer place a bowl of water underneath the
bowl of beans
12.
Preheat the oven to 37/38deg C and then keep the mixture for 18 – 22 hours at
37/38deg C. (this is the smelly part)
13.
Place in fridge for 4 – 14 days depending on usage and taste/depth of
fermentation required.
14.
Portion and Freeze.
15.
Keep 45g pot for the next batch.
Figure 1Warm and Steam Soaked
Beans
2 Water under, Beans covered 38c,
22hrs
3 50g Sample
unfrozen
4 Closeup of sample
stirred
5 Lunch: Natto, Buckwheat, Bruschetta
