Edamame: Japan's Magic Twig Beans
posted by John Spacey, March 24, 2014Edamame (literally: twig bean) are steamed young soybeans typically served with sea salt.
Edamame are a magic food for Izakaya because they encourage customers to drink more. They are salty but not particularly filling (as compared with the oily foods commonly served by Izakaya).
(last of the honest izakaya: pea boiled in salty water well-seasoned in salt to buy another beer)
Edamame are one of the many aspects of Japanese culture that invoke feelings of nostalgia for people. They're a social food that remind many of the blurry izakaya nights of the past. 
How To Eat An Edamame
There's a big difference from one edamame to the next.Edamame are "young" soybeans in the sense that they are harvested while they are still soft and supple (before full maturity).
The best edamame are fresh, local varieties that are picked by hand in Japan. Top izakaya will only serve edamame when they are locally in season.
Edamame that are harvested by machine, frozen and imported from overseas just don't taste the same. Many Japanese consumers have a strong preference for non-GM soybeans. The majority of soybeans grown in North America are GM. Japanese buyers search the world for non-GM soybeans and buy from producers such as the Ukraine.The preferred salt for Edamame is Arajio (a lumpy, mineral rich, slightly fishy sea salt). Some restaurants will provide you with unsalted edamame and salt. This allows you to salt your edamame to your taste. After salting edamame you should wait 2 or 3 minutes before eating. Let them absorb the salt.
Edamame are eaten by hand. The beans can be squeezed out of the pod into your mouth.
Edamame Dishes
The soybean is used in a great number of Japanese dishes. Most soy foods such as tofu, yuba, miso and shoyu are made with mature soybeans.Young soybeans (edamame) aren't nearly so important to Japanese cuisine. Edamame are included in a handful of modern Japanese dishes such as deep fried edamame wrapped in yuba .
| Edamame is ranked | #5 of 106 Japanese Foods #6 of 16 Signs Japan is Obsessed With Soybeans #7 of 96 Vegetarian Japanese Foods #10 of 19 Japanese Party Foods |
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