I laughed so hard when you said you might be able to eat natto because it smelled like insecticide.😂 Natto is delicious when mixed with raw egg and put on rice, and omelets are also delicious! I sometimes add Mentsuyu and Wasabi without using the sauce that comes with it.
Honestly, it's impressive that 3/5 people liked it! When I first tried natto, I was the same as スリシュさん。The taste was rotten--it felt like something that the body should not eat. A few years later, I started working in Japan's public schools. As you may already know, natto is commonly served for school lunch. Not wanting to be rude, I once again tried to eat natto, and was very surprised! The flavor that I once thought was rotten suddenly became nutty and pleasant. So what Brandon says is absolutely correct. If you don't like natto at first, try again! ...Though, why you'd want to try again is a mystery lol.
They basically has understanding or respect for Japanese food and culture who is living in Japan. If they don’t like taste of natto, or thier first impression of natto is not good, they try to understand it as like “This is Japanese quirky food". They try to find acceptable part like, " It doesn't bad smell for me" , or " The slimy texture, I’m ok with that” even they don’t like natto totally. I can feel their consideration for Japanese culture from their words. But whether the literally foregin person who said that " Japan is located beside UK " I had watched those person on America's TV whatever, likes natto is another story.
Even some Japanese people hates natto, so it's not rude to not eat it when it's served. It's usually served in those plastic packages, so people that hates it just leaves it unopened.
I have tried multiple brands of natto. There is a Korean supermarket near me with many Japanese natto brands. I have decided I like it best without mixing it first. I don’t mind the string texture of the unmixed natto, but I dislike the slime texture of the mixed natto. It has a roasted aroma like chocolate.
It was very interesting to hear English spoken by people from different countries. I was also impressed that there were more people from overseas who could eat natto than Japanese people think. It was a lot of fun!
