Day 290: Two Recipes for Edamame Snacks

The Sugar High Friday online edible events are always a welcome challenge for A Veggie Venture.

But January's mean'n'lean Sugar LOW Friday created a special, um, opportunity. Sure, there're vegetables in cakes and sweets and even sorbets and ice creams (oh! I can't wait to spring one or two cold ones on us all some warm day soon!) and all calling for piles of sugar, buckets of butter.

So like every good writer who starts over entirely when a sentence doesn't work, I decided to turn the SHF/SLF thinking upside down by choosing not a sweet, not a dessert, but instead a dessert replacement ... a snack.

A vegetable snack, of course, made from protein-rich edamame beans. With NO cream. And NO sugar. And only a tiny bit of oil. And quite tasty to snack on after supper, at your desk ... although some messy but no more than a potato chip or even popcorn.

I tried two versions, one roasted with olive oil and salt (on the left) and another microwaved and tossed with ground Lapsang souchong tea and salt (on the right). They were remarkably similar -- the flavor really comes from the meaty texture of the soybeans. (Yes, edamame is a fancy name for the beans of a soy plant!)

RECIPE for ROASTED EDAMAME BEANS

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Time to table: 30 minutes
Makes 1 cup

8 ounces frozen edamame beans, still frozen
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the edamame beans with the olive oil and kosher salt until well coated. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally. Serve warm.



RECIPE for SMOKY EDAMAME BEANS

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 15 minutes
Makes 1 cup

8 ounces frozen edamame beans, still frozen

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon Lapsang souchong tea leaves (or the Spanish paprika called pimenton)
1/2 teaspoon olive oil

Place the edamame beans in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cook on high power for 5 minutes. Let rest for 1 minute.

Meanwhile, grind the salt and the tea leaves. Toss the mixture with the cooked edamame beans and the olive oil. Serve warm.


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MORE FAVORITE EDAMAME RECIPES
~ Edamame in the Shell ~
~ Asparagus & Edamame Salad ~
~ more edamame recipes ~




© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2006


Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. Being Veg, I surprise myself more and more when I realize the things I haven't tried yet. Thanks for the info! I've heard much about them but have never done anything with them at home from scratch.

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  2. Hey Tanya -- Even my regular grocery carries edamame beans in the frozen food section. Otherwise I'd try a health food store. Whole Foods and Trader Joe's also carry edamame beans, if those are nearby. For these snacks, definitely get the shelled beans. But another option is to get them still in the shell, cook them, then serve them with a little salt on the side. People have to sort of suck the beans out, so it's great for outside. But the salt/shell/bean thing somehow really works, better than it sounds in words, I promise! Thanks for visiting -- Alanna

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  3. Interesting take on the challenge Alanna, but seeing as one reader already commented on my blog that they prefer savoury over sweet at dessert time, I know your entry will have at least one major fan.
    Thanks for taking part.

    Sam

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  4. I've become a bit obsessed with my little tin of Tea Chef lapsang souchong, and I have a bag of edamame in the freezer--I'll have to give this recipe a try asap.

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna