Nepal, Jan. 17 -- The smell of kinema is strong-so strong that neighbours notice when you're cooking it. Kinema, made by fermenting cooked soybeans, is a much-loved ethnic food of the Kirat community, chiefly Limbu and Rai, who inhabit the eastern hilly regions of Nepal. Strong flavours such as kinema's are ingrained in their culture. A friend belonging to the community corrected me as soon as I noted its smell: "ganhauncha nabhannu na, baas auncha" ("It isn't stinky; it has an aroma."). Some may find it very unusual or even offensive, but for people growing up eating kinema, its smell and flavour is one that evokes nostalgia.

For Limbus, there is no other food that is more quintessential and defining than kinema. I knew about Japan's na...