Soy has long been an integral part of many Asian cuisines, and it’s becoming increasingly popular in the West as more people explore vegetarianism and meat-free alternatives.
But even if you’re happy with the odd bit of tofu (soybean curd), how much fermented soy are you getting in your diet?
Published in the British Medical Journal, a new study found “a higher intake of fermented soy was associated with a lower risk of mortality”. The same link wasn’t found with regular soy – it has to be the fermented stuff, which means some kind of bacteria or yeast has been introduced.
The study was carried out in Japan, where fermented soy is a common part of people’s diet, and looked into the health of more than 90,000 participants who ate both fermented and non-fermented soy products.
Over a follow-up period of nearly 15 years, the researchers found a higher intake of fermented soy (particularly the foods natto and miso) contributed to a 10% lower risk of all cause mortality. The researchers have said: “Further studies are still required, however, to refine our understanding of the health effects of fermented soy.”
6 easy ways to eat more fermented soy
If your diet could do with including a bit more fermented soy, but you don’t know where to begin, here are some suggestions…
1. Drink miso soup
Miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans, and is melted into dashi, a traditional Japanese stock, to make soup. Many people in Japan start their day with a bowl or cup of miso soup to ‘wake up’ their digestion.
Do be careful when incorporating more miso into your diet, as it can be quite salty.
2. Put tempeh in your stir fry
You’ll traditionally find tempeh in Indonesian cooking, but it’s becoming increasingly popular more widely as an alternative to tofu. It’s made from fermented soybeans, which are packed together into a cake. It’s a lot more solid than tofu and has a nutty flavour, making it a perfect addition to stir-fries when chopped up into chunks.
3. Have a bowl of natto
Natto isn’t as well-known in the West, but is another popular Japanese dish. Made from (shocker) fermented soybeans, natto is very much an acquired taste – it has quite a strong smell and both a sticky and slimy texture.
It’s often eaten as a breakfast food, served on rice. The study also specifically looked into this dish and said: “Natto showed significant and inverse associations with total cardiovascular disease-related mortality in both sexes.”
4. Drizzle some gochujang over your meal
Hailing from Korea, gochujang is a bright red condiment. It’s essentially a fermented chilli paste, which is savoury, sweet and spicy all at the same time. It’s perfect to incorporate into sauces, or drizzle over your meal.
5. Pickle your tofu
Tofu is made from soy, and you can easily ferment it at home by putting it in pickling brine.
If you don’t fancy doing this yourself, you can try and hunt down some stinky tofu. This is a famous Chinese dish which, like natto, has a strong smell often likened to cheese or socks. It’s a popular snack food, often sold deep-fried from street carts across China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
6. Bring out the soy sauce
Yep, everyone’s favourite salty condiment is actually made from fermented soybeans. A lot of the things on this list have a distinctive ‘fermented’ taste which isn’t for everyone, but soy sauce doesn’t have quite the same tang.
