Fermenting.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by NewWestGardener

My mom used to make it this way: pick, wash, and soak the soy beans, then boil them, mash them up into a dry paste, which is then formed into big bricks , I'd say about 6"x6"x12". Then wrap them up in clean paper, and leave them on a indoor shelf to ferment and dry, for two-three months.
In the coming spring, the bricks, now look like super old moldy bread, are broken into 2-3 inch chunks, and placed inside a huge clay vault (is that the right word? Big deep open mouthed clay container), in which water and salt are added. Quite a bit of salt actually, 1 to every 3-4 volume measure of the soy paste. Then we used a tool similar to that used in making butter, a stick with a small flat board at the end, to stir and turn the mixture a few times everyday, outside in the sun. The pot is covered with a piece of cheese cloth with weights tied to its corners. In a few weeks, it will be ready, the consistency is similar to that of pancake mixture.
We used miso a lot, mostly as a salad dressing, with garlic and vinegar. Or added to fried hot chili peppers with pork to make a nice condiment. Or as a more flavorful substitute of soy sauce.
Cooked, salted and fermented soy beans themselves are also used in cooking. Like in some Szechuan dishes.
I doubt anyone would try these, but I just want to tell how those things are done by some people in another part of the world.

The whole idea of this stuff scares me to death.
I will also admit I am not a fan of many Asian foods especially Japanese.
Some yes most not.

The one I cant remember what it is called where they eat the fish while it is still alive and flipping is beyond belief.

Most American people dont even know that sushi is not raw fish, it can be used in sushi but it isn't just raw fish.
It is the rice and the preparation of it.