Natto toast with egg is a quick and tasty breakfast that is also healthy. Top a slice of bread with layers of homemade egg salad and natto. Then toast till it's golden. Eat and enjoy hot! Natto egg toast is a simple but very special breakfast or snack.
Why This Recipe Works
Every weekend, the New York Times does a "Sunday in the day of a life" type article. I look forward to reading it each week.
It's fun and also very neat to read about how another person spends their Sunday They usually pick locally famous New Yorkers and this past week was Nozomu Abe of Sushi Noz.
This whole article was great, but I kept returning to the paragraph about what his wife makes for breakfast:
"Nao usually makes us natto bread for breakfast, which is fermented soybeans, with mayonnaise and egg on shokupan, or Japanese milk bread. It’s my favorite."
How delicious does that sound! I love natto but am not familiar with natto toast.
I did a bit of poking around the internet and found many variations on natto toast. Some with egg. Some with cabbage, avocado, tomato, or ham. Some with cheese. Always with Kewpie mayonnaise.
I was intrigued by Nozomu's specific version which is natto and egg on toast. Chef Ja Cooks had a great looking version and that's how we got to today's recipe.
It's basically bread topped with a thin layer of egg salad followed by a layer of natto and mayonnaise. Then you toast it and eat it! So easy.
Like most recipes on this blog, this recipe is flexible and forgiving.
You can use all types of bread. We use milk bread, but you can make it with baguette, sandwich bread, etc.
Feel free to use more or less egg salad. More or less mayonnaise...though mo' mayonnaise, mo' bettah in our world heheh.
What Is Natto?
Natto is made from whole soybeans that have been fermented. It's wonderfully sticky and slimy. Natto is very healthy. It's has a strong smell and flavor. Some say it's an acquired taste. We say it's delicious ^_^
You can purchase natto at most Japanese supermarkets. It's usually sold in a three pack container in the freezer section. Each container comes with two seasoning packets. One is a natto sauce (a mixture of soy sauce, mirin or sugar, and dashi). The other is a Japanese mustard called karashi.
To eat natto, just mix the seasoning packets with the natto. Use chopsticks or fork to mix/whip the natto until it's well blended with the seasonings and you can see lots of sticky "strings." The more you mix/whip it, the more "strings" you get.
If you haven't had natto before, this recipe is a great introduction to natto. Why? Because cooking (toasting, in this case) the natto makes the strong flavors slightly more mild.
And if you love natto? This recipe will make you love it even more.
We love natto so much in Hawaii that there's a local natto fest where many restaurants prepare special dishes made from natto.
We've seen everything from natto loco moco to natto honey toast with ice cream to natto lumpia!
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need:
- Hardboiled eggs - Everyone has a different way of making hard boiled eggs. This is how we do it: bring a pot of water to boil, then gently add in the eggs. Cover the pot. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then drain the water and peel the eggs.
- Kewpie mayonnaise - Kewpie is our default mayonnaise for any Japanese dish that calls for mayonnaise. It is delicious and definitely worth seeking out. You can find it at any Japanese supermarket. The only time we don't use Kewpie is when we're make Hawaii-style macaroni salad!
- Parsley - Regular curly parsley, not the Italian flat leaf parsley.
- Natto - Purchase natto at any Japanese market. It is usually found in the freezer section. Natto comes in a three container/box set. Each container is about 40-50 grams. You just need one container for this recipe. Store the natto in the freezer till you're ready to use it.
- Bread - This recipe is most commonly made with Japanese milk bread (which is what we used in this post). But you can use pretty much any other type of bread including baguette or other sandwich breads.
Now let's make breakfast!
Step by Step Directions
Here's how you make natto toast with egg:
Make the egg salad.
Chop the eggs and place them in a bowl. Add the Kewpie mayonnaise and minced parsley to the bowl. Use a fork to mash and mix the eggs well with the mayonnaise and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread egg salad on bread.
Spread the egg salad on the two slices of bread. Try to spread it as close to the edges of the bread as you can.
Prepare the natto.
Open the package of natto. Open the two sauce packets that come with the natto. One packet has the natto sauce (a mix of soy sauce, mirin or sugar, and dashi). The other has Japanese mustard.
Pour the two packets over the natto and use chopsticks or fork to mix/whip it well.
It's sticky and slimy so mix with care (and try not to get it all over the kitchen :).
Spread natto on top of egg salad.
Gently spread the prepared natto over the egg salad. Make sure to distribute the natto evenly over the egg salad.
Finish with Kewpie mayonnaise.
Drizzle Kewpie mayonnaise over the top of the whole toast...
This step is optional but that extra drizzle of mayonnaise is so delicious.
Now your dish is assembled and ready to be toasted in the toaster oven...
Toast and eat!
Toast it in the toaster oven. The actual toasting time and temperature depends on your specific toaster. We use a Balmuda* toaster and toasted it at 350F for 3 minutes. Then 450F for another 3 minutes.
Toasting at a lower 350F first heats everything up without burning the bread. Then toasting at 450F gets everything golden/browned and delicious.
Eat hot and enjoy ^_^
*The Balmuda is a pricey Japanese toaster oven and worth every penny. I had been dreaming about this toaster oven for years and finally made the purchase last month. We've been using it daily!
FAQs and Tips
It does not keep. Make 1 toast per person and make it only right before you eat it. It is best fresh out of the toaster oven.
- Omit or replace the parsley with another green like thinly sliced scallions.
- Top the finished toast with a sprinkle of togarashi.
- Use baguette or other sandwich bread instead of milk bread.
Pair with a cup of hot tea or coffee. A happy and nutritious breakfast ^_^
Natto Egg Toast Recipe
See below and enjoy ^_^
Natto Egg Toast
Natto toast with egg is a quick and tasty breakfast that is also healthy. Top a slice of bread with layers of egg salad and natto. Then toast till it's golden. Eat and enjoy hot! Natto egg toast is a simple but very special breakfast or snack.
Ingredients
- 2 hardboiled eggs, peeled
- 2 tablespoons Kewpie mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon parsley, minced
- 1 container natto (40-50 gram box)
- 2 slices bread
Instructions
- First make the egg salad. Chop the eggs and place in a bowl. Add a tablespoons of Kewpie mayonnaise and minced parsley to the bowl. Use a fork to mash and mix the eggs with the mayonnaise and parsley. Season with a little salt and pepper.
- Gently spread the egg salad on the two slices of bread. Spread it as close to the edges of the bread as you can.
- Open the package of natto. Open the two sauce packets that come with the natto. (One packet has a mixture of soy sauce, mirin or sugar, and dashi. The other is mustard). Pour the two packets over the natto and use chopsticks or fork to mix/whip it well.
- Spread the mixed natto over the egg salad, distributing it evenly over the egg salad.
- Drizzle a little Kewpie mayonnaise over the top.
- Toast it in the toaster oven! Toasting time/temperature depends on your specific toaster. We use a Balmuda and toast at 350F for 3 minutes. Then 450F for another 3 minutes.
- Eat hot and enjoy ^_^
Notes
- Use regular curly parsley, not Italian flat leaf parsley.
- Kewpie mayonnaise is ideal, but regular mayonnaise will also work.
- We used milk bread for this recipe, but you can do this on any type of bread like baguette or sandwich bread.
- Recipe adapted from Chef Ja Cooks.
I LOVE NATTO!! I will definitely try this! What I have always wondered is what the "soy" sauce is in the natto. Because it doesn't taste exactly like soy. Since I'm haole, I can't read the package. Any idea?
Thanks
Hi Karen! I believe the sauce is a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, and dashi. It's so good ^_^
- Kathy
@Kathy, the natto I buy only has a small packet of hot mustard in it. My "go to" mix ins are the packet of hot mustard, miso, raw egg, and shoyu. And of course green onions. Then if I have it, I add chopped pieces of maguro or ika -- those dishes are commonly referred to as "ika natto" and "maguro natto".
@Kathy, hmm, I'll have to try that. The closest I have come is Golden Mountain Sauce. Because, that small packet is just too small LOL
@Alan, Ika natto is so good. When I first went to the sushi place that is my regular, they kept trying to give me ika natto as sushi...........
Wow! I love Natto too. I always eat it with rice; mixed with green onions and miso. For "fancier" versions I mix natto with ika or with maguro too. But I never have heard of it with toast. I am surprised that you like natto. Not many people like it. My Mom loved it but my Dad hated it. LOL!
Hi Alan! Natto and rice is still the best combo, always so tasty ^_^ I haven't mixed it with ika before, that's a good idea!
- Kathy