Much of the fun of eating natto comes in the stirring process just before eating, which mixes it with air, and brings out the characteristic sliminess. Some stress the importance of both clockwise and counterclockwise rotations, some shoot for 25, or 50, and some 424. Some take it too far, so I figured I'd give that a shot as well.
A few weeks ago, I stirred my natto for about 40 minutes while skyping, but didn't keep track of the number of turns. It turned out like this,
and was every bit as amazing as it looks! But this time, I swapped the chopsticks out for my trusty spoon, hoping it would make things easier. I also combined two large packages into a Tupperware-type container, that can better withstand the abuse of a big metal spoon repeatedly ramming into the sides. The spoon ended up affording a bit more control than chopsticks, but also causing two blisters on my pinky.
I felt the progression from 0-600 turns was relatively uneventful, perhaps because I eat within this range every day. Usually when the really thick white bands start to form, it's lunchtime!
Let's begin!
At 200 turns, it looks ready to eat, but no such luck today.
400 stirs. In this range is my ideal, as each bean is engulfed in a fluffy white cloud of safety and happiness, and some of them are just starting to split open and expose more surface area for all to enjoy.
600 turns, and the bands are already thinning out, and the well-aerated sliminess is starting to fade.
At about 700 revolutions, the fizzy sound of countless tiny air bubbles popping was loud and clear. I feel that around this time the transition to a much thicker, dense mass of tough bean mush had been made.
800.
At 900, I took a water break, and had played around with a different grip for the preceding 100. My right hand was getting noticeably hot and red, and no changes in form were going to help that.
The big 1000! The last 50 were counter-clockwise, but that didn't make anything easier.
After about 1000, it became extremely difficult to move the beans as a cohesive mass. Keeping them stuck together was such a challenge, that a change in stirring style had to accommodate this. Smashing the beans with the back of the spoon on the first half of the turn, and scooping them all together for the second half, worked as well as anything I could think of at that point.
1200 stirs. Outwardly beautiful, but unforgivingly sticky.
1400.
1600 stirs, and both hands were shaking quite a bit. The difficulties in keeping the (former) beans together continued to mount.
1800. The pain!
By 1900 stirs, I was starting to doubt the accuracy of my count, as my attention was being led astray by feelings of pain, worries about the grip, and the sneaking suspicion that no further benefit could be had
by continuing to stir.
2000 at last. Visually stunning!
Very thankful that the experiment had come to a close, I added my mustard and soy sauce, and gave it another 100 or so stirs. Both hands were still trembling, the temperature difference between the two was significant, and the muscles of my right arm were still clenched, but mixing in the condiments at this point felt like a victory lap.
I can agree that it didn't bear much resemblance to food at this point, but it was time to taste! 頂きます！
My first thoughts were that it was like putting a sugarless cookie dough in my mouth, though everything dissolved with only minimal chewing and contact with saliva. The taste was much more powerful than any natto I'd had before, and a strange, almost bitter feeling coated the back of my mouth. It felt like something slightly metallic, combined with an especially strong sensation of eating rotten food. I say 'rotten' to distinguish from all other fermented foods I've had, as this was seriously unpleasant! It seemed as though something in there was blocking the saltiness of the soy sauce, and it felt poisonous on the finish.
Simply put, I did not enjoy the final result. Though I don't remember now, maybe that's what it was like when I tried natto for the first time back in the US, and maybe that's what it feels like for people who don't enjoy the stuff. But perhaps that just goes to show that there are different ways to prepare and eat it, so giving up before exploring the possibilities might just be a big mistake!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: 納豆の無い世界には生きたくない！