About the Recipe
You could call natto the Japanese equivalent of marmite - people (even Japanese people!) seem to love it or loathe it. For the uninitiated reader, natto is a sticky cluster of fermented soya beans with an unusual taste and smell which I liken to a ripe blue cheese. So if you like ripe cheeses, chances are that you will like natto too.(Even if you don't like blue cheeses, read on!) I should add that natto is an exceedingly healthy thing to eat (unlike ripe cheeses!)
Ingredients
5 tbsp natto
1 spring onion, finely chopped
20g lettuce leaves
1/2 tp mustard
1 tsp soy sauce
2 sheets, nori
2 sheet, cling film*
150g cooked rice
* the cling film should be slightly bigger than the nori sheet, so about 30cm X 30cm
Preparation
mix the natto well in a bowl until it becomes sticky
add the chopped spring onion, mustard & soy sauce and mix again
lay the cling film on a plate, then lay the nori sheet on top &
place them diagonally in front of you, so you have a corner at the top and bottom
spread 1/4 of the rice in the centre of the nori sheet
spread 1/2 the natto over the rice
place 1/2 the lettuce leaves on the natto
spread another 1/4 of the rice on the lettuce
pull the top and bottom corners of the nori over the filling
now bring the left and right corners up to form the onigirazu
use the cling film to form a neat, square parcel
rest for 5 mins and then cut in half using a sharp knife