natto

[ not-oh ]

noun

, Japanese Cooking.

1. a dish of fermented cooked soybeans, often eaten for breakfast over white rice or with toppings such as soy sauce and mustard.

Word History and Origins

Origin of natto¹

First recorded in 1870–75; from Japanese, from na(t)- (ultimately from Middle Chinese; cognate with Cantonese naap, Mandarin nà “to bring into, receive”) + tō “bean” ( bean ( def ) )

Example Sentences

Like the famously frugal Buffett, Imura is also thrifty, taking public transport in Tokyo and regularly eating eggs, bananas and "natto", or fermented soybeans, for their "cost performance".

From Reuters

A sexless husband queries his wife’s lover over a package of natto.

From New York Times

On a typical day, he makes a breakfast of rice, miso soup and natto.

From Seattle Times

I ate sea cucumbers and natto in Japan, poi in Hawaii, and morcilla when I lived in Madrid as a young adult.

From Salon

Few foods paint upon the blank canvas of a bowl of rice quite as brilliantly as natto.

From Salon