Ochibisan Halal Natto (Updated: 14/06/2020, 0234 Hrs)

As a Japanophile, I love Japanese food. I have tried sushi, gyūdon, okonomiyaki and takoyaki, and even made my own onigiri. Of all the Japanese food I've ate, there is one that I haven't tried yet: Natto.

Natto, a fermented Japanese soya bean dish, is known for its smell and also cardiovascular health benefits. Although natto extract (nattokinase) is available in capsules, it is also expensive. I have seen natto being sold at AEON supermarkets, but most of these are not halal, as it contains alcohol.

But this has changed, as AEON supermarkets now have them.

Yesterday, I went to AEON Nilai with my mother for some shopping. As interstate travel restrictions have been lifted during the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) period, both of us can now go to AEON Nilai to buy either groceries at the supermarket or some food at the food court located at Ground Floor (there is another on 2nd Floor). Still, there are SOPs that we need to follow, such as social distancing, wearing masks and applying hand sanitisers, and scanning QR Codes using the MySejahtera smartphone app. Unlike previous visits, we didn't eat at the food court; Instead, we bought it for takeaway.

Moving on; At one section of the supermarket, there are some natto. I used to look at the natto available whenever I go shopping there, and have always wondered when will AEON introduce a halal version of natto. Although halal natto has long been manufactured in Japan, it was not imported into Malaysia yet. Yesterday's shopping trip made me quite happy, as AEON finally brought in the halal natto I always wanted.

So, I went to the natto section at the supermarket, and located at the top rack of the refrigerator, are a number of natto with NAHA (Nippon Asia Halal Association) halal logo on it.

As shown in the picture above, this halal natto is called Ochibisan Natto, small bean variety. After doing some of my own research, I found that this natto is manufactured by Kosugi Foods Corporation, based in Kuwana city, Mie prefecture, Japan. It is sold in three small packs, and the expiry date of the product is on 13th January 2021. As shown in the first picture earlier, it is priced at RM 9.50.

Since this is the first time I've seen halal natto available, I decided to buy one first, as I didn't know its taste yet.

In the photo above is a list of ingredients used to manufacture the natto; One is written in Japanese, the other, a sticker with the ingredients list written in English.


OCHIBISAN HALAL NATTO: PERSONAL REVIEW

This natto comes in three small, individual polystyrene packs. This is just one of the three packs.

Inside the pack is the natto itself, and it comes with soya sauce and Japanese mustard packets.

This is how the natto looks like. This natto smells like coffee, and it wasn't as strong as I first thought.

This is how the natto looks like when picked up using chopsticks. It is quite slimy.

So, how does it taste?

I tried it first without using the condiments. All I can say is, its taste is a mixture of bland and sour combined together. Its texture is also as slimy as it looks. In fact, its slimy texture reminds me of an okra dish my mother cooked once.

Next, I mixed it with the soya sauce, and its taste slightly improved, a little bit perhaps.

Finally, I added the mustard. Although this improves the taste slightly and the combination with soya sauce makes it more palatable, I noticed the mustard has a wasabi-like taste in it.

Overall, it is OK. Getting used to the smell and particularly, the taste, takes a bit of time, but I finally got over it.

As I already ate the natto on its own yesterday night, I tried eating natto with rice this morning; I can say that this is the best way to eat it. By mixing the natto with rice, I find it more palatable than eating it on its own.

Natto, eaten on its own.

Natto with rice.

And that concludes my personal review of Ochibisan Halal Natto.

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