Seeing how I've lived in China as long as I have, I've just recently jumped on the edamame train. 毛豆 for those of you in this country. I've seen them in the markets for years and just haven't really known what to do with them. But Americans (and food bloggers) are also getting more and more into edamame, so there is more and more on the internet about them. And why not? They are super simple to cook up and they are a Super Food! Around our house, my kids have gotten really into super foods. All I have to do is label any fruit or vegetable as such and they will try it. They like the idea of eating things that are good for them. Just a 1/2 cup of edamame has major amounts of fiber, protein, and some antioxidants to name a few. In all my research about cooking edamame though, its hard to actually find much about cooking them fresh--most recipes or information out there has to do with frozen ones. So below is what I've been doing to cook ours when buying them fresh in the markets here--which they seem to be a spring/summer vegetable and are super cheap right now!
Unshelled
Bring about a quart of water to boil in a saucepan. Add about 1 Tbs of salt. Add several cups of edamame pods to the water and cook for about 8 minutes. Strain and serve once you can handle the pods.
Shelled
Remove as much of the pod skin as you can from the beans. Bring about a quart of water to boil in a saucepan. Add about 1 tsp of salt. Boil beans for 4 minutes and quickly drain off hot water. Add a sprinkle of salt if needed and serve!
You can totally eat these warm or cold. Once boiled you can store in the fridge. We like just eating them plain, but we also sprinkle them on a salad, add them to stir fries, etc.. The possibilities are endless! One of my local neighbors recently served them to us with some tomato and a little meat in a stir fry. My kids enjoy popping the edamame out of the pods to eat them, but I also like the ease of buying them already shelled in the market as well. Especially for my 16 month old--I can't shell them fast enough for her!
These pictures are not mine. Image 1 (edamame pods) courtesy of here and Image 2 (shelled beans) from here.
Thanks! This is my new favorite snack.
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