Edamame, My Favorite Way

One of my all time favorite snacks to make for myself is this chili-garlic edamame. I've been making it for years and it was inspired by a sushi restaurant I used to frequent, located in Annapolis, MD. Annapolis is about 50 minutes from my house, so it's much more economical to make this for myself at home rather than drive all the way out there when I have a craving. It's quick and easy and the flavor pay-off is incredible.

This recipe is to my taste, therefore it's not quite as spicy as it is served at the restaurant. When you have it there your nose is running and you're guzzling water just to be able to make it to the next bite. While that spiciness is definitely delicious, I think my version provides a much more enjoyable eating experience. But if you really like spice, go ahead and add another quarter to half teaspoon of the chili paste. Also, I made the serving size as one since I often eat it as a snack, but it's very easy to multiply this recipe if you're planning on serving it as a dinner side dish or at a party.

Some of these ingredients might be hard to find at a regular grocery store, so make a trip to an Asian food market and stock up. A small change I made from the original recipe is the addition of the black soy sauce. I like that it brings a slight sweetness, which pairs well with the spiciness of the chili paste. But if you don't have an Asian food store nearby and can't find it at your everyday grocer, go ahead and use regular soy sauce. The measurement should be about the same.

Let's get cookin'!

Chili-Garlic Edamame

Servings: 1
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: about 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen edamame, still in their shells
2 teaspoons peanut or sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chili paste
1 teaspoon black soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus an extra sprinkle at the end

Fill a sauce pan about half way with water, place the frozen edamame in it, and bring to a boil.

Once the water is boiling, cook for about ten minutes or until the edamame start turning a less vibrant shade of green, almost light brown. Strain and set aside.

To save time, begin cooking the sauce while the edamame is boiling. Heat the peanut or sesame oil and garlic in a skillet over medium-low heat. Let the garlic cook until it becomes very fragrant, about five minutes. Then stir in the chili paste and let that cook with the garlic for about three minutes.

Finally, stir in the black soy sauce and remove the skillet from the heat, turning the burner off.

Add the edamame directly to the sauce and place the skillet back on the warm burner (with the burner still turned off). Add the salt at this time and toss the edamame to coat in the sauce.

Pour the edamame into a serving bowl set atop a slightly larger plate, making sure to scrape out all of the little bits. Don't want to lose any of that flavor! This way you can discard the shells onto the plate after you're done sucking the edamame from their pods. Sprinkle with a final pinch of salt and serve hot. Salute!