Fermented Umami Dressing with Natto and Nukazuke
May 22,2025
May 22,2025
People feel they should incorporate fermented foods into their daily meals. But many doubtless wonder how to fit them into their meal plan and how to serve them. There are considerable obstacles to eating them every day.
Culinary expert Niiya Yurie therefore came up with the idea of turning fermented foods into dressings. You can pour these dressings on seasonal vegetables to highlight the flavor, as well as use them for all kinds of other things. She also shares her thoughts on soboro natto, a fermented food found only in her native Ibaraki.
Yurie was keenly reminded of the importance of eating proper, balanced meals about four years ago. She was on a diet when her body underwent an unexpected change.
“I was on a low-carb diet, and it immediately started paying off. But while I’d been regular until then, I started having trouble with my bowel movements. So I decided to make a point of eating fermented foods every day as part of a balanced diet.”
When she tried to eat fermented foods every day, however, she found it was surprisingly difficult to stick to.
“Fermented foods like pickled vegetables and natto taste perfectly good as they are, right? But you get tired of eating them day in and day out. When I tried using them in my cooking, though, I sometimes felt they tasted better on their own. Then I hit on the idea of turning fermented foods into dressings.”
When Yurie tried turning fermented foods into dressings, she found there were no downsides.
“Fermented food dressings keep well, so I could stock up on them to use in small amounts at mealtimes. And because they’re made with fermented foods rich in umami, all you have to do is put some on seasonal vegetables, and it highlights the flavor and stimulates your appetite. Of course, you can’t just use these dressings on salad; you can use them for all kinds of other things as well. Once you’ve made a batch, it comes in mighty handy in your everyday cooking.”
For this feature Yurie demonstrated how to make two dressings, one made from nukazuke (vegetables pickled in rice bran), the other made from natto (fermented soybeans). Nukazuke pairs nicely with olive oil, resulting in a very European flavor. Among the attractions of these fermented umami dressings is the way that, when combined with the right ingredients, they turn Japanese fermented foods into something almost Western. The natto dressing possesses an attractive aroma imparted by soy sauce and sesame oil. It doesn’t have the peculiar flavor that puts some people off natto.
“Nukazuke with its sour taste and umami flavor goes well in dressing, even if it’s well pickled. And natto clings beautifully to the other ingredients, making it perfect for dressing.”
Nukazuke dressing is loaded with chopped rice bran pickles.
〈Nukazuke dressing〉
Chop the pickled cucumber into 5 mm cubes so it combines well with the other ingredients. Either homemade or store-bought nukazuke is acceptable. It’s a good idea to adjust the amount of salt in the dressing depending on how salty the pickles are.
1. Place the rice vinegar and salt in a bowl and blend, dissolving the salt. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Transfer to a storage container. The dressing will keep in the fridge for about a week.
First, place the salt in the vinegar and blend until it dissolves (left). Then mix with the other ingredients (right).
〈Natto dressing〉
When turned into a dressing, natto made from crushed soybeans combines better with the other ingredients than the regular kind. Use two whole containers of it. For the nuts, coarsely chop a mixture of almonds, walnuts, cashew nuts or whatever nuts you like with a kitchen knife.
1. Place the rice vinegar and sugar in a bowl and blend, dissolving the sugar. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Transfer to a storage container. The dressing will keep in the fridge for about a week.
“The natto beans instantly separate when mixed with the seasonings and oil,” says Yurie.
Early summer is the season for fresh-smelling, fresh-tasting vegetables like pulses, asparagus, and slightly bitter watercress. Drizzling fermented umami dressing on seasonal produce enhances the flavor.
“Add a source of protein like meat or fish, and you have a salad filling enough to be a main dish in its own right.”
This salad stands as a main dish in its own right. It’s made with watercress, boiled green asparagus, snap peas, and broad beans, and sea bream sashimi, all drizzled in nukazuke dressing. It pairs nicely with white wine.
Yurie suggests using the umami notes of these dressings to enhance a variety of other dishes as well. “Natto dressing on somen noodles is perfect for lunch. Natto dressing on grilled atsuage (deep-fried tofu) or meat makes a nice dish to accompany rice. Nukazuke dressing tastes delicious as a sauce for carpaccio or tossed with pasta.”
Another recommendation: noodles with pork shabu-shabu and Chinese chives in natto dressing. Top somen noodles with shabu-shabu pork slices and Chinese chives cut into little pieces, then add natto dressing.
One fermented food that has always been part of Yurie’s life is natto, for which her native Ibaraki is famed. Natto appeared on the dining table almost every day in her childhood home, and even now she eats it at least once a week. And then there is soboro natto, which she’s been fond of since she was little. Soboro natto is a traditional food of Mito, the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture. It’s made by chopping dried daikon strips and mixing them with natto, then soaking them in a sweet and salty marinade of soy sauce, mirin cooking sake, and other ingredients.
“Soboro natto is a very common food in Ibaraki; it’s even available in several varieties at the supermarket. After I moved to Tokyo, I was amazed to find the supermarkets here don’t sell it [laughs].”
Soboro natto served on rice tastes exquisite: you find yourself wolfing it down. The chewy texture of dried daikon strips goes beautifully with natto. And it’s wonderfully filling too. “The stuff sold in stores is heavily flavored, so I’d suggest eating it in tea or hot water ochazuke-style.”
Yurie makes all her soboro natto herself. “It’s easy to make by stir-frying and simmering. That way I can season it lightly, which is how I prefer it.”
Reconstitute 15 g of dried daikon strips by soaking them in water for 20 minutes. Wring out the moisture and cut to 1 cm widths, then stir-fry in half a tablespoon of rice-bran oil heated in a pan. Once coated in oil, add 2 containers (90 g) of natto and quickly stir-fry. Add 1.5 tbsp. soy sauce and 1 tbsp. mirin and stir-fry together until all the liquid is gone.
Culinary expert, registered dietitian, and mother of two children
Culinary expert, registered dietitian, and mother of two children
After graduating from Sukenari Yoko Cooking Art Seminar, Niiya Yurie worked as assistant to one of the school’s instructors, culinary expert Sukenari Futaba, before turning free-lance. She currently develops recipes and styles food for books, magazines, and advertisements. She’s renowned for her healthy, energizing recipes that are simple to make. Her numerous books include Salad-based Dishes That Keep You Regular (published by Bunka Publishing Bureau) and 100 Slimming Pastas Packed with Veggies (published by Shufu to Seikatsu Sha).