Spicy edamame

This is a copycat of the spicy edamame you get at modern Japanese restaurants, a standard order for pre-dinner snacking. The final recipe to complete the fusion Japanese menu I shared earlier this week, just in time for the weekend!

Spicy edamame

No outing to a fusion Japanese restaurant happens without a bowl of edamame to start. While I wouldn’t turn down a bowl of regular plain salted edamame, if Spicy Edamame is on offer, I will pounce on it. Which should surprise no one, given my love of big, bold flavoured food!

But – I always cringe when I see the price. It’s usually over $10 for a small bowl while it costs just over $3 for a whole bag of frozen edamame and less than $1 to make the sauce!

So, here is my copycat of Spicy Edamame, the sort that you see on the menu of modern Asian restaurants. Serve it as a snack – it goes with everything: sake, wine, beer, cocktails!

For a traditional Japanese version, the plain salted variety, here is the recipe on my mother’s website, RecipeTin Japan.

Ingredients in spicy edamame

Here’s what you need to make this spicy edamame.

Frozen edamame

These days, frozen edamame is easily found in the frozen vegetable or Asian section of regular grocery stores. Look for packets that are not brined (ie pre salted) as it’s better to control salt levels yourself. Also, be sure to get edamame that is in the pods (rather than shelled ie soy beans removed from the pods) because the whole point of this dish is to suck the soy beans out of the sauce coated pods!

For more tips on selecting the best edamame and background information, see my mother’s traditional Japanese salted Edamame recipe here.

spicy garlic sauce for edamame

It took a few goes to get the balance of flavours right. I found that using a basic mix of soy + chilli paste + sesame oil was just a bit flat and boring. A touch of mirin and miso paste went a long way to solve this. But don’t worry, there are easy substitutes for both of these.

• Sambal oelak – a chilli paste that is made from fresh chillies with a bit of salt and vinegar. It’s mildly spicy. Even though it’s not Japanese, I like to use this for spicy edamame for the colour and flavour it adds. Substitute with any chilli paste you have, or sriracha – just start with a bit and add more at the end to get the spiciness to the level you want.

• Japanese soy is a little more delicate in flavour than Chinese soy but it’s fine to use any all-purpose or light soy soy sauce. Don’t use dark soy (too strong, it will ruin the dish) or sweet soy (too sweet). See here for more about different types of soy sauces.

• Mirin – syrupy sweet Japanese cooking wine made from rice that adds depth of flavour into the sauce. Essential ingredients in Japanese cooking (literally used in every second dish). Find it in the Asian section of grocery stores or Asian stores. Substitute with: 2 teaspoons honey plus 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock, and simmer sauce for longer.

• Grapeseed oil – This is a very flavourless oil which makes it an ideal choice when you want other flavours to shine through. Substitute with other natural flavoured oil – canola, rapeseed, vegetable or peanut oil.

• Garlic – finely minced with a knife (not a crusher, it’s too wet and pasty to be sautéed)

• Miso paste – Just 1/4 tsp provides flavour and salt into the sauce and also thickens it so the sauce clings to the edamame. Any type is fine – white, red, saikyo miso etc. Substitute: add an extra pinch of salt.

Non spicy version – See recipe notes for a Honey Soy kid-friendly alternative.

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How to make spicy edamame

1. Cook the edamame from frozen in salted boiling water for 2 minutes. NOTE: Many packets will instruct to boil for 5 minutes. That’s not necessary as the edamame is already pre-cooked, and it also dulls the green colour. Also, some packets will include microwave or steaming directions which you can also use. I prefer to boil in lightly salted water for a little extra seasoning on the skin.

2. Drain well and shake the excess water off.

3. Sauce – Sauté the garlic gently in the oil until it is light golden. Then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for just 1 minute until syrupy.

4. Pour over the edamame then toss well to coat. Transfer into a serving bowl and serve!

Now, onto the most important matter – how to eat Spicy Edamame (seriously, for first timers, instruction is required!).

How to eat spicy edamame

How you eat spicy edamame matters!!! Because, uniquely, the part you eat is inside the pods (ie the soy beans) but the part that’s sauced is the outside (which is discarded).

And it’s deliberate! Because this is how to eat edamame:

• Pick up a sauce slathered pod;

• Use your front teeth to semi-bite / semi-suck the soy beans out of the pods while simultaneously sucking all the sauce off the skin of the pod;

• You end up with a mouthful of the slippery soy beans and the tasty sauce;

• Discard the sauce-less, empty pod; and

• Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Wash it down with a cold beer, warm sake, cold sake, a cocktail or your favourite glass of wine. There’s no better way to kick off a meal….or finish a Friday! – Nagi x

PS Edamame is rich in protein, fiber, and various vitamins and minerals. And there’s not much oil in the sauce, making this dish a much better-for-you option that other snacking alternatives! So I like to think it offsets the wine.😈

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Watch how to make it

Life of Dozer

Today – filming Play School. He’s peaked!

He did me proud. Never barked when the cameras were rolling and when it came to his time to shine in front of the cameras, he nailed it in one take!!

And there I am, frantically learning my lines while getting a blow-out (Dozer was up next).

What a life Dozer leads!! Still can’t believe I picked him up for 50% off. Bargain of my life!