In China, fresh edamame is harvested during the summer months. By now, they are all over produce markets in China. Unfortunately, I have yet to see fresh edamame in the US, but lucky for us, edamame beans freeze very well. You can easily find bags of frozen edamame, in and out of the husk at Asian grocery stores. I’ve had both fresh and frozen edamame beans, and I really can’t tell them apart.
When most people think of edamame, they envision the small plate of steamed edamame sprinkled with coarse sea salt served in Japanese restaurants. Today, I want to share the Chinese version of how to cook edamame with you. The Chinese version of the edamame recipe is unique, because we cut both ends of the edamame pods off, which allows the flavors of the boiling liquid to get inside the bean rather than just coat the outside husk. The result is some seriously tasty edamame. With this cooking method, you can be creative and vary the spices used to your preference. Feel free to use Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili peppers, ginger, scallion, cumin seeds, rice wine, etc., etc. The sky’s the limit! I feel a little silly posting such a simple edamame recipe, but this is a nice spin on what you usually overpay for in Japanese restaurants, so I believe the effort is well worth it! And by the way, this is a dish you can prepare ahead of time and serve cold or at room temperature. We just let them cool off, and store them in the refrigerator for spontaneous snacking sessions!
Edamame Recipe Instructions
Prepare the fresh or frozen edamame by trimming away both ends with kitchen shears or a knife. Take care not to cut the beans themselves. This will allow the flavor to get inside the edamame pods and into the bean.
In a small pot, boil 3 – 4 cups of water along with the salt, star anise, light soy sauce, whole peppercorns, and garlic. Once the water boils, turn down heat to the lowest setting and let simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn up the heat, adding the edamame into the pot. Boil for 5 -6 minutes WITHOUT THE LID.
Drain and serve! These edamame bean cooked this way will keep well in the fridge in a zipper bag or covered bowl for about a week.
