Tsuyu Season!?! Neba Neba Brother!

Posted on May 30, 2007 by Brenton S.

So the Tsuyu (early summer plum rain) season is upon you all! Yikes! That hot balmy humidity that just wilts your willpower to move and forces you indoors to seek any form of air conditioning… If you have any strength left after battling the heavy humidity why not try some refreshing and traditional summer foods that are supposed to invigorate you in this harsh wetness. This is the best time for us Gaijins to be adventurous especially when it comes to Japanese cuisine because no human is exempt from the elements!

When it comes to beating the heat there is nothing more refreshing than cold noodles and the like. However for the more adventurous, the Tsuyu season cuisine extends to much more exotic types of foods. Many of these foods can be classified under the term “Neba-Neba” which means sticky or slimy (gooey). Slimy you say? Exactly! The summer season offers a multitude of Neba-Neba foods to be tried and examined!

I consider myself a cooking aficionado and when I was faced with the unbearable heat in Japan, I could not wait to try new things that would help me deal with the humidity. First off the list for Neba-Neba foods for summer is the dreaded Natto (fermented soybeans). Smelling a lot worse than it tastes, Natto are soybeans that have been fermented to acquire a sticky consistency that stretches out like slimy webs when stretched. High in protein, Natto is usually eaten for breakfast over rice with green onions, a raw egg, soy sauce, and some mustard. I find that eating Natto on cold Soba or Udon noodles is an excellent way to beat the summer heat.

Second in stickiness would have to be Yama Imo or mountain yam. Grated from its tuber like root, it turns into a slimy and consistent white goop. It seems that the more one tries to mix the goop, the thicker and more together it becomes often turning what resembles a white slimy piece of wet dough. This food can be added to sauces, and other cold foods to increase it’s easy to eat qualities. Yama Imo is high in vitamin C and B1 helping one to replenish various nutrients lost from sweating a lot.

Third on the list of summer foods is a type of seaweed call Mozuku. Usually found in convenience stores and supermarkets, this seaweed comes in small clear containers about the size of a fruit cocktail in the refrigerated section. Usually a little sweet and vinegary, Mozuku is touted to be one of the most healthy things one can consume. Retaining a large amount of various minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins after cooking, Mozuku replenishes the body and cools your core body temperature down upon consumption.

Okra which is found all over the world, is also considered a Neba-Neba food, and is usually, eaten raw or parboiled in a number of Japanese dishes. Being very pleasing to the eye when cut, Okra is a very decorative additive to a summer dish. Being rich in vitamins, calcium, and iron, Okra makes an excellent vegetable with nutritive body replenishing qualities.

The last Neba-Neba ingredient of unspeakable importance is the raw egg. Whether eaten daily over hot rice, or swished around over noodles, a raw egg adds a quick boost of protein that is needed to charge you throughout the day. Although many Westerners would never think of consuming raw eggs unless they were training like Rocky, I have never become sick by ingesting them. Since new technology and refrigeration are available everywhere, the chance of becoming ill due to salmonella and bacteria has been reduced comparatively.

Mixing these ingredients together will surely impress any Nihonjin that observes you eat these summer foods. So when you absolutely cannot stand the Tsuyu weather any longer, or feel like you don’t have any energy left, grab a buddy and take in the summer Neba-Neba ingredients. Surely it will be a slime, err sublime way to deal with the Tsuyu season!