Hamburger Steak with Natto Sauce

In my life as a chef, this was my first experience creating a dish via hearsay alone. In addition, the act of actually eating a hamburger steak with a sauce made from the unique food “natto” also had quite an impact on me. Having grown up in Hokkaido where long ago around 20% of people sprinkled sugar on natto when eating it, I found it incomprehensible when somebody said to me “Hamburger steaks really taste great with natto sauce”. But after that person’s remark, my recipe search began. By “search”, I don’t mean going to look for a recipe book somewhere. If you try searching for this dish, variations exist; however, having never eaten it and more importantly having never made it before, I didn’t know which was the correct flavour. Working off what I had heard, I got to a certain point by gathering the kitchen staff together and going through repeated trial and error. Maybe it wasn’t right, or maybe there was no right. But I felt as if I had touched upon the same thing as the person who came up with the dish. As somebody engaged with food, this process was a really great experience. I was able to turn this dish into something that can be served in a dinner course. I thought that recipes are not just a way of cooking, but also a history. I’m looking forward to the launching of our new app where anybody can participate in the recording and publishing of the evolution and transition of recipes.