| Hiroshi: |
Hi, Mr. Green. I have a question for you. |
| Mr. Green: |
Hi, Hiroshi. What is your question? |
| Hiroshi: |
Yesterday, I [ ① ] for information on the Internet about fermented soybean food,
for example, natto.
Then, I found some interesting information.
According to Ⓐit, natto is one kind of fermented soybean food
and there are many other kinds of fermented soybean food in the world.
Are there any kinds of fermented soybean food in America? |
 |
| Mr. Green: |
Well, natto is often sold in supermarkets in America,
but I’m not sure that other kinds of fermented soybean food are sold there.
However, I know that there are other kinds of fermented soybean food in Asia. |
| Hiroshi: |
Really? Why do you know that? |
| Mr. Green: |
Actually, when I visited Thailand three years ago,
I ate fermented soybean food made in Thailand.
I studied cultures of Asia at university,
and learned that some areas and countries in Asia have similar food.
They have a similar climate, and similar trees and plants,
so people there can make similar food. |
 |
| Hiroshi: |
That sounds interesting.
You mean [ ② ] , right? |
| Mr. Green: |
That’s right! |
| Hiroshi: |
Thank you, Mr. Green.
I will try to find information about fermented soybean food in Asia. |
| Mr. Green: |
I hope you’ll find something about it. Oh, Sari is there.
She is from Indonesia. Maybe she knows something.
[ ③ ] |
| Hiroshi: |
Oh, yes! I’ll do so. Hi, Sari. |
| Sari: |
Hi, Hiroshi. Hi, Mr. Green. |
| Hiroshi: |
Sari, you’re from Indonesia, right?
I was talking with Mr. Green about fermented soybean food in the world.
In Indonesia, are there any kinds of fermented soybean food? |
| Sari: |
Yes. We have food called “tempeh.” |
| Hiroshi: |
Tempeh? Does it look like natto? |
| Sari: |
Well, tempeh and natto look very different.
[ ④ ] of tempeh now, I could show it to you. |
| Hiroshi: |
Oh, I’ve just found a picture on my tablet.
Look at this. The food in this picture looks like cake. |
 |
| Mr. Green: |
Is this tempeh? |
| Sari: |
Yes, this is tempeh.
Tempeh and natto look different, right?
Tempeh isn’t sticky.
When I ate natto for the first time, I was surprised that natto was sticky! |
| Hiroshi: |
I’m surprised to know that tempeh isn’t sticky. |
| Mr. Green: |
I can understand how you felt, Sari.
I told Hiroshi that I ate fermented soybean food made in Thailand.
[ア] So, when I first ate natto,
I was surprised like Sari because eating sticky food was a new experience
for me. |
| Hiroshi: |
I see. It’s interesting to know how other people feel when they eat natto. |
| Mr. Green: |
That’s true. [イ] |
| Hiroshi: |
Is tempeh popular food in Indonesia? |
| Sari: |
Yes! I think some people in Indonesia always have tempeh to cook at home
and they eat it almost every day. |
| Mr. Green: |
How do they cook tempeh? |
| Sari: |
We usually fry tempeh.
For example, my family fries tempeh with various vegetables. |
| Mr. Green: |
That’s interesting.
In Japan, natto is usually eaten with rice, right?
[ウ] People eat various kinds of fermented soybean food in various ways.
[エ] |
| Hiroshi: |
I can’t imagine the taste of tempeh.
But, I want to try it someday. |
| Sari: |
Now, tempeh is getting popular in Japan.
[ ⑤ ] |
| Hiroshi: |
Really? I didn’t think I could buy tempeh in this neighborhood.
I want to eat tempeh, and compare tempeh and natto. |
| Sari: |
Let’s go there this weekend. |
| Hiroshi: |
Yes! Thank you, Sari.
Learning about various kinds of food in other countries was interesting.
And, it made me become more interested in natto.
I think learning about food in other countries leads me to learning about
food
in my country. |
| Sari: |
I agree with you.
[ ⑥ ] |
| Mr. Green: |
Thank you for telling us about tempeh,
Sari, and thank you for sharing an interesting topic, Hiroshi. |
〔注〕 fermented soybean food 発酵大豆食品 climate 気候 tablet タブレット sticky ねばねばした fry (フライパンなどで) 炒(いた)める |