Baku Kitchen! An independent reference of traditional food

Natto

納豆

Sticky fermented soybeans over rice with mustard and soy, polarizing breakfast

Japan Fermented & pickled Vegetarian One for the adventurous

Your guide, Chef Baku
Drawn, not photographed Updated September 2026
RATE

A full recipe for this dish has not been written yet.

History

Legend ties it to eleventh-century warriors whose boiled soybeans fermented in straw horse-feed sacks; Mito in Ibaraki became the modern production centre.

Frequently asked questions

What is Natto?

Natto is a fermented & pickled from Japan: sticky fermented soybeans over rice with mustard and soy, polarizing breakfast. Legend ties it to eleventh-century warriors whose boiled soybeans fermented in straw horse-feed sacks; Mito in Ibaraki became the modern production centre.

Made with

soy

Cooked

fermented

Nutrition facts

Nutrition has not been calculated for this dish yet.

The atlas would have to match every ingredient to a food-composition database before it could publish a figure, and an estimate is not worth having if someone is counting on it.

Reviews

No reviews yet.

Cooked this? Say how it went — yours will be the first.

Leave a review

No account needed. Only the fields marked * are required, and an address is never published.

Your rating

More from Japan

ShochuDistilled spirit from barley, sweet potato or rice, drunk with hot water or iceKaraageMarinated chicken pieces dusted in potato starch and fried juicy and craggyfermented & pickledTsukemonoRice-bran or salt pickles of daikon, cucumber and eggplant served with every mealSashimiPristine slices of raw fish served with soy sauce and wasabi

You'll also love

South KoreaOi SobagiCucumbers slit and stuffed with chive-chili filling, a fast summer kimchiRomaniaBorsSour liquid fermented from wheat bran, used to sharpen ciorbă soups.Trinidad and TobagoKuchelaShredded green mango cured with mustard oil, chilli and amchar masalaMaldivesAsaaraChopped mango, chilli and lime cured in oil and salt into a sharp pickle