We couldn't let a month of Eating Light and beans go by without a mention of edamame! Lately, steamed edamame has been one of our favorite snacks.
Eating Light: Frozen Edamame for Quick Snack
Edamame is the name for young, immature soybeans, picked before they've had a chance to harden. (You can see what mature soybeans look like here.)
You can buy these young, green soybeans still in their pods, and steam or boil them. When eaten with plenty of salt they're a delicious and nourishing treat. We mostly associated these with Asian restaurants, until we realized we could buy bags of frozen edamame and make them at home.
Sometimes you don't even need to steam them; this bag from Trader Joe's only cost $1.69, and the pods are already steamed. We just defrosted them in the microwave and sprinkled some extra salt on top. Ultimately, though, we prefer the non-cooked frozen edamame to these; it only takes a few minutes to steam them, and our experience has been that they taste fresher when we buy them uncooked.
This entire bag only contains about 400 calories, and the process of splitting the pods open and nibbling the beans is a great deal of fun. This has become our latest go-to snack, a healthy dose of green in the cold wintertime.
Comments (9)
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Thanks for reminding me about all the edamame in my freezer! I like it best with coarse salt, lime, and mint.
view Kristina's profile
And let me point out to the gardeners out there that edamame is very easy to grow and tastes even better fresh! It's nuttier with just a hint of sweetness when you grow it yourself. Like most home garden-grown veggies, it's better from your back yard. The only challenge is the crop comes on all at once, so if you don't stagger your plantings, you have a week or two to pig out, then it's gone (though I did freeze some).
view violet222's profile
Salt lime and mint - thanks for the tip Kristina - yum! I love these things. I found the Trader Joes bag in the back of my freezer last week and ate them in two greedy sittings. And you don't even have to feel guilty about it. Half a bag has about 180 calories and is packed with vitamins and protein.
view cedargr0's profile
I love it with salt and smoked paprika. Sounds weird, maybe, but the paprika gives it a great kick.
view mhirsch's profile
Love em. Tasty, healthy, quick, easy. I like mine sprinkled with just a little coarse salt. The shelled ones are great in succotash as a substitute for lima beans.
view jyw's profile
I have a couple of bags of those in my freezer right now. In the mornings I throw a handful in a plastic bag and carry it in with me to campus. By the the time I'm getting the afternoon munchies, the edamame is thawed and ready for nibblin'. Tasty!
view laetitiae's profile
Geez I don't even have the patience to eat the ones in the pods. I buy 'em shelled and eat em by the handful!
view TheGoodBiGirl's profile
A delicious dip made with shelled ones - blend boiled edamame with olive oil, coriander, chile powder, cumin, reserved water, lemon juice. Serve with crackers...delicious.
view Manuchao's profile
I get the uncooked ones and I steam them in a bamboo steamer and add sea salt. Yum
view Pierre's profile