How to Eat Edamame the Right Way, According to Chefs

If you want to know how to eat edamame like a pro, you could park yourself at a sushi bar and pick up pointers from fellow diners—after all, an order of the spritely green soybean pods is a typical way to jump-start a raw fish feast. Alternatively, you could prepare edamame at home and use the beans in loads of delicious ways—which is where we come in.

Ahead, we connected with cookbook authors and a sushi chef to learn more about enjoying this nutritious legume.

Edamame Explained

Edamame, or green soybeans, are young soybeans that resemble pea pods. The legumes grow in bunches on branches, and since they're picked when immature, the pods are still closed. Plump and slightly hairy, each pod contains a few soybeans (aka seeds).

Etymology: Edamame is a Japanese word: 'Eda' refers to 'branch' or 'stem' while 'mame' refers to 'bean,' so edamame translates to 'bean branch' or 'bean twig.'

Soybean: Edamame shares the same botanical name, Glycine max, with soybeans, which are harvested when fully mature and used for everything from tofu and soy sauce to miso.

History: Originating in East Asia, and cultivated in China about 7,000 years ago, soybeans were introduced to Japan around the eighth century. Edamame was a later development: Around the Edo period (1603–1867), the practice of boiling the beans in their pods and slithering out the seeds caught on, and edamame became hugely popular in Japan.

How to Eat Edamame

The tradition of boiling the pods and removing the beans to eat still reigns supreme. "To eat cooked, salted edamame, the custom is to use your teeth and tongue to extract the beans from the pods," explain Caryn Ng and Brendan Liew, co-authors of cookbooks including A Day in Tokyo: A Japanese Cookbook, "Apply gentle pressure to the pods, at which point the whole beans should easily slide out." This method leaves your hands clean (mostly) while allowing you to savor the flakes of salt on the pod, they say. The pods can be discarded for composting.

Preparation

Edamame is available fresh or frozen, in the shell or out, trading the extraction experience for convenience. "I always buy frozen mukimame (shelled edamame), and you can find these in both Western and Asian supermarkets in the freezer aisles," says Kat Lieu, author of Modern Asian Kitchen.

To cook frozen edamame (whether in pods or not):

1. Boil salted water in a saucepan
2. Add the frozen edamame.
3. Cook till tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Drain the beans or pods.

“Once they are cooked, I like to finish them off with a sprinkle of Maldon salt for an extra touch of flavor," says Max Kamakura, executive omakase and sushi chef for Mr. Hospitality Miami.

Fresh Edamame

Occasionally sold in Asian markets, fresh edamame isn't an everyday find. "If you can get your hands on fresh edamame, you're very lucky, as they are usually sweeter and more crisp than the frozen variety," say Ng and Liew. Kept in a paper bag in the fridge, they last up to a week and can be prepared like frozen edamame.

Snacking

A bountiful bowlful of edamame is hard to resist. "It's fun, and you want to keep going, popping more of the little beans into your mouth and piling the shells sky high," Lieu says.

Bar food: In Japan, edamame is often served at izakayas (after-work pubs) alongside beer, sake, or shochu. "The salty crunch of the beans pairs well with drinks," explain Ng and Liew. "Think of them as the Japanese stand-in for potato crisps or roasted nuts."

Cultural resonance: Edamame is also ingrained in Japanese foodways. "Just as crawfish holds a special place in American cuisine, edamame is cherished in Japanese culture," adds Kamakura.

Sweet side: In parts of Japan where the edamame is extra sweet, the beans are mashed into a paste with sugar and salt called zunda, and blended into smoothies, say Ng and Liew. "Zunda is also spread on top of the traditional Japanese glutinous rice balls, dango, or had with mochi as a sweet," the authors explain. (Note: Dango is a Japanese sweet dumpling.)

Flavor Profile

While edamame pods aren't edible, the soybeans have a distinctive taste. "Edamame has a rich, nutty flavor with a subtle sweetness and a lingering umami finish," Kamamakura says.  Lieu detects a vegetal grassiness and a taste similar to tofu. "Tofu is quite mellow, and that's edamame for you too, mellow and subtle in flavor—that's why they go so well with sea salt,” she says.

Nutritional Benefits

A superfood rich in plant protein and fiber, with nine essential amino acids, edamame is also a good source of vitamin C, iron, folates, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and other minerals.

Cooking With Edamame

We could snack away all day on a hill of green soybeans, but why stop there? Here's how the experts embrace edamame:

• Poke: Lieu reaches for mukimame (shelled edamame) when assembling poke bowls.
• Salads: Chilled edamame can be mixed into salads or cold noodles for texture and flavor, say Ng and Liew. Try them in our Cold Sesame Noodles.
• Summer rolls: Lieu tucks edamame inside these rice paper rolls. "They're like little hard bites of tofu," she says. 
• Dumplings: Lieu also uses mashed edamame as a dumpling or bao filling. Spoon some into our Pot Sticker Dumplings. 
• Bean swap: Edamame pairs wonderfully with any preparation you'd make with other types of beans, like salads, rice dishes, and purées, Kamamakura says. Add them to our 7 Bean Salad.
• Pea substitute: "For Western recipes where you use peas, try using mukimame," Lieu suggests. Start experimenting with our Sweet Pea and Onion Frittata.