The best Japanese food you won’t easily find outside of Japan

Forbes Magazine has an article today about the “Best Japanese Foods You Can’t Get At Home.” The full list of foods is in photo slideshow form, and starts with natto, a food that many foreigners apparently do not like.

[via FG Forums]

19 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - July 4, 2008 at 9:19 am

Categories: Japanese Food Tags: food

Doodles

Are you kidding me? Natto? It is the most foulest smelling and tasting crap the Japanese ever devised. wasn’t created after the second war out of neccessity and the Japanese now proclaim to like just in spite to add yet another staple of “only in Japan” foods? Some of the other foods on the list are note worthy, I think everyone should try unagi once in their life. But Natto, and Tako-yaki? you can keep that crap in Japan dear sir.

http://chirimotsumoreba.net shazzb0t

You may bash natto, dear sir, but you MAY NOT bash tako-yaki! It is truly the fruit of the gods.

Fragment

There is one restraunt in my city that has tako-yaki and they always run out!

I tried it once and it quickly made it into my top ten favorite foods.

doinkies

Natto actually has a much longer history:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natto

Not all Japanese like it either, for that matter.

http://chirimotsumoreba.net shazzb0t

I must say I didn’t know that natto contained so many things that were good for you. Try new delicious collagen enriched natto with your gohan today!

majiimeaussie

Who says you can’t get natto at home? It is actually sold overseas in frozen form and from the Japanese I know who have tasted it they said freezing it had no effect on the taste or texture (obviously once it was defrosted).

http://www.feitclub.com feitclub

Yeah, natto is routinely available in freezers at both Japanese and “Asian” markets throughout the States. If you’re lucky, you can even find the straw-wrapped variety which tastes better than the styrofoam type. Of course, expect to pay 3-4 dollars for something that rarely costs more than 125 Yen here in Japan.

Takoyaki is rare in the States, but certainly not that hard to find. The East Village in New York has several restaurants/eateries that offer it at a slightly inflated price.

D-san

Natto is disgusting period.
http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

I love natto! Best thing since cheese and beer, which also both happen to be fermented!
SlyTheSly

Me too I like natto.
I guess that’s because I’m used to all the cheese wa have in France, including the most smelly of them :p (yeah, for me natto is almost cheese :p)

And I agree with the fact that tako-yaki is gooooooooooood ^_^
http://sleepytako.blogspot.com sleepytako

Natto rocks. And easy to get in the states Mitsuwa markets scattered through out the US (mostly SoCal) and many pan-asian markets sell it.

What I found hard to get in Tucson, AZ this winter on a trip home was those little bricks of mochi. They healthfood/asian food/prison meal supplying market in Tucson had weird Californian mochi that was ok, but the real Japanese stuff went for 10USD a bag. Super expensive.

Takoyaki and okonomiyaki are harder to find, making it yourself isn’t too hard if you can get the boiled octopus. My mom’s got an takoyaki pan in her house. The only shop I know selling takoyaki is the little restruant infront of the Mitsuwa in San Deigo.

I was thinking about if I moved back to the US I’d have to start a okonomiyaki restaurant. Sounds like hard work but fun.
isa

how does it compare with indonesian`s Tempe? anyone has tried tempe?

i never had natto before though, no courage.

http://www.eurasian-sensation.blogspot.com Eurasian Sensation

Natto is softer than tempe and much more pungent. Have tried natto a few times, but can’t say I get any pleasure out of eating it. Tempe, on the other hand, is delicious if you cook it right.

turandot

Actually, you can find Kombu in the states too. It is freeze dried and packaged for overseas consumption these days (I have some in my pantry right now). You still need to have a good asian supermarket nearby, though.
folosa

Natto is quality. Japanese food is the best. American food in comparison is sad.
Rob

if you live in NY, Hawaii, or California you can pretty much get everything on that list except hamo. I can only get it at restaurants in the summer.
Troy

I’ve been getting it frozen at the local Chinese supermarket for over a year.
Amy

We definitely have that stuff in San Francisco … :3 at the local jtown market.
http://www.onivoro.com.br Kojima

Many stuffs there can be made/grown outside Japan: natto, kombu, konyaku.

In Asian markets in Brazil, you can find Brazilian made natto and konyaku.

The best Japanese food you won’t easily find outside of Japan

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