Garlic Edamame

Garlic Edamame are stir-fried and seasoned whole Edamame pods with garlic sauce. It is not the traditional Japanese Edamame appetizer, which is usually simply pods boiled with salt, but a rather Americanized Japanese dish. Garlic Edamame may be new, but it is a very flavorful tasty little appetizer that goes with Japanese beer and Chuhai.

Usually when you eat Edamame in pods, you hold the pod, squeeze it , and let the beans pop out. But to enjoy the flavor of Garlic Edamame, you put part of the Edamame pod in your mouth, then let your teeth do the job to pop the beans out. That way you can taste the garlic soy sauce on the pod very well. This may not be the best manners at the table, but it is still fun and delicious to eat.

There are frozen Edamame you can buy all year round so you might not realize that Edamame is actually in season in summer and started as a summer food. It is very hard to buy fresh Edamame in the US, but frozen works just fine. If you’re using frozen edamame, defrost first to cut the cooking time, but if you don’t mind cooking longer, add them frozen in the frying pan. Garlic Edamame is such a great accompaniment to your favorite drinks. Make a bunch and enjoy with your friends and family!