Spicy edamame – RecipeTin Eats

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.

Bonus nutrition: 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!

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. 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 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.

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 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. I like to think it offsets the wine.😈

Watch how to make it

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Spicy edamame

Author: Nagi

Snack

Asian, Modern Asian, Modern Japanese

Servings4 – 6 as a starter

Tap or hover to scale

Recipe video above. This is a copycat of the spicy edamame you get at modern Japanese restaurants! Every meal starts with a bowl of these! Great pre-dinner snacking.Getting the right balance of flavours in the sauce is key. A bit of mirin and miso paste gave it a nice depth of flavour rather than tasting flat, and I like the colour and spiciness using sambal oelak.

Instructions

• Spicy garlic sauce – Heat the oil in a small pan over medium low heat. Cook the garlic until very light golden, then add everything else. Stir, then simmer on low for 1 minute. Remove from stove.

• Edamame – Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the salt. Put the frozen edamame in the water. Bring it back up to the boil then cook for 2 minutes (Note 5 – ignore the packet times, they always say too long!). Drain well, shaking off excess water.

• Toss – Transfer edamame into a bowl, pour over sauce, toss. Transfer into a serving bowl – scrape out every drop of sauce! Serve warm or at room temperature.

• To eat, pick up a sauce-slathered pod. Bite the pod so the soybeans pop out into your mouth, and suck all the sauce off the skin. Discard the skin, repeat and repeat!

Recipe Notes:

1. Edamame – These days you can find edamame at regular grocery stores, in the frozen vegetables or Asian section. Look for plain rather than brined (pre-salted). If you get brined, skip the salt in both the cooking water and the sauce. Be sure to get the edamame IN the pods, not shelled, because sucking the soybeans out of the pods is the whole point!
2. Asian chilli paste, find it in the Asian section of grocery stores or Asian stores, medium level spiciness. Substitute with another chilli paste or sauce, starting with less and adding more at the end if you can handle the heat.
For a non-spicy version, substitute with 1 tbsp and 1 tsp white vinegar for a kid friendly Honey Soy Edamame.
3. 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).
4. Mirin – Japanese cooking wine that is syrupy and sweet, adds depth of flavour into sauces. Find it in the Asian section of grocery stores or Asian stores. Substitute with: 2 teaspoons honey plus 1/4 chicken or vegetable stock, and simmer sauce for longer.
5. Cooking edamame – Frozen edamame is pre-cooked so it only takes a couple of minutes. Some packets say 5 minutes which is way too long and dulls the green colour. You can also steam or microwave, per packet directions, but I like to boil to get a little seasoning on the surface (tastier!).
Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Great snacking! Best at room temperature or slightly warm.
Nutrition per serving assuming 4 servings.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 156cal (8%)Carbohydrates: 14g (5%)Protein: 8g (16%)Fat: 8g (12%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 444mg (19%)Potassium: 370mg (11%)Fiber: 3g (13%)Sugar: 3g (3%)Vitamin A: 8IUVitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 67mg (7%)Iron: 2mg (11%)

Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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!