Edamames with Ponzu Sauce

Helga Glaesel de BlandingMarch 7, 2012

This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

Don’t you love edamames? I ate a whole pound all by myself the other day.

Edamame, is a green vegetable more commonly known as a soybean, harvested at the peak of ripening right before it reaches the “hardening” time. The word Edamame means “Beans on Branches,” and it grows in clusters on bushy branches. To retain the freshness and its natural flavor, it is parboiled and quick-frozen. In East Asia, the soybean has been used for over two thousand years as a major source of protein. Edamame is consumed as a snack, a vegetable dish, used in soups or processed into sweets. As a snack, the pods are lightly boiled in salted water, and then the seeds are squeezed directly from the pods into the mouth with the fingers.

I always eat mine with ponzu sauce, which is basically soy sauce with lemon. (Our big secret, right Edith? haha)

Helga

Edamames with Ponzu Sauce

Yields 2 cups
(you can divide the recipe to yield only 1 cup)
Recipe adapted from NY Times Dining Journal

Ingredients:
1 lb frozen edamames
salt

Ingredients For Sauce:
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice, more to taste
1/3 cup fresh lime juice, more to taste
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 cup good-quality soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin (or 1/4 cup sake and 1 tablespoon sugar)
Pinch cayenne

Procedure:

In a medium sized pot, bring enough water to a boil. Add a good pinch of salt.
Introduce the edamames, and as soon as they start to float to the top (about 3-5 minutes), drain them and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
For the sauce: In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Let sit for at least 2 hours or overnight. Strain. Just before using, you might add a small squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice. Covered and refrigerated, ponzu will keep for at least several days.

Note: