Sticky fermented soybeans with a strong ammonia smell, fried with tomato and chilli. It is a Limbu speciality of eastern Nepal, wrapped in fern leaves and fermented near the hearth, and it is a close relative of Japanese natto and Naga axone.
It is an alkaline Bacillus ferment of a high-protein bean held warm for days with no salt, where the leaves carry the inoculum; what colonises beans left warm elsewhere is frequently not the same organism.
What goes into it
- soybeans
- fern or banana leaves
- hearth warmth
How it is made
Soybeans are boiled soft, drained and lightly crushed, then wrapped hot in fern leaves and set in a basket near the hearth for one to three days. Bacillus subtilis colonises them, drawing sticky threads and breaking the protein down. The leaves and the basket carry the culture from batch to batch.
How long it takes: one to three days at hearth warmth
How it is eaten
Fried with tomato, onion and chilli into a curry, or dried and kept for months.
History
Limbu speciality of eastern Nepal, wrapped in fern leaves and fermented near the hearth; related to Japanese natto and Indian axone.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kinema?
Kinema is a fermented & pickled from Nepal: sticky fermented soybeans with a strong ammonia smell, fried with tomato and chilli. Limbu speciality of eastern Nepal, wrapped in fern leaves and fermented near the hearth; related to Japanese natto and Indian axone.
How is Kinema made?
Soybeans are boiled soft, drained and lightly crushed, then wrapped hot in fern leaves and set in a basket near the hearth for one to three days. Bacillus subtilis colonises them, drawing sticky threads and breaking the protein down. The leaves and the basket carry the culture from batch to batch. It takes one to three days at hearth warmth.
Can I make Kinema at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is an alkaline Bacillus ferment of a high-protein bean held warm for days with no salt, where the leaves carry the inoculum; what colonises beans left warm elsewhere is frequently not the same organism.
What goes into Kinema?
Soybeans, fern or banana leaves, hearth warmth.
How is Kinema eaten?
Fried with tomato, onion and chilli into a curry, or dried and kept for months.
