You’ll often see steamed edamame with sea salt, but in this recipe, we kick up the flavors with lots of garlic, ginger, and a spicy chili sauce. Edamame is easy to cook at home and fun to eat, and this is my favorite way to cook it.
Key Ingredients
Edamame: These are young soybeans, which means the beans are soft and easy to eat. In this edamame recipe, we cook the beans inside their shell. You don’t eat the shell. I use my front teeth to scrape the beans out of the pod (they pop out easily). You can use shelled edamame in the recipe. I’ve included tips below the recipe. Garlic and ginger: I use a tablespoon each of minced garlic and ginger. If you don’t want to buy fresh ginger, look in the produce section of your grocery store for the tubes of ginger (sometimes you can also find frozen pureed ginger). Soy sauce, maple syrup, and toasted sesame oil: I love the simple sauce in this recipe. It’s a little salty from the soy sauce (or use tamari), sweet from maple syrup (or use honey), and toasty from the sesame oil. Chili sauce: I love Sambal Oelek. It’s made with crushed raw red chiles, a little vinegar, and salt. It’s sold in most grocery stores. Check the grocery aisle where you’d buy soy sauce, and it should be there. If you can’t find it, Sriracha or Gochujang are good alternatives.
How to Make Spicy Edamame
Of all the recipes I’ve tried, this is seriously my favorite way to cook edamame. It’s so flavorful. You’ll start with fresh or frozen edamame in their shells. Since it’s more available where we live, we use frozen. You’ll steam or boil the edamame until the pods are bright green and heated through. I boil my edamame in the video. Once cooked, we will toss them with our spicy ginger garlic sauce. I heat minced garlic and ginger in oil for a minute in a skillet on the stove. Now that the garlic and ginger are fragrant and have released their flavors into the oil, I stir in soy sauce, maple syrup, and chili sauce. Toss the sauce with your cooked edamame pods, and you are ready to dig in.
What to Serve with Spicy Edamame
I love this as a snack or appetizer. It’s excellent served next to other appetizers like egg rolls, spring rolls, and homemade crab Rangoon. You can make it a complete meal by serving it next to rice, fried rice, homemade sushi, and stir fries like this broccoli chicken stir fry or this veggie stir fry. I also love it with chicken teriyaki! 1 tablespoon avocado oil or other neutral oil 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 2 tablespoons light soy sauce or tamari 2 to 3 teaspoons pure maple syrup, sugar or honey 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 1/2 to 1 tablespoon Sambal Oelek or Sriracha 2To microwave edamame, place the edamame in a microwave-safe dish with 1/4 cup of water and a pinch of salt. Partially cover the dish with a plate, then microwave on high until bright green and heated through. Depending on your microwave, this can take 1 to 5 minutes. 2Remove the skillet from the heat, and then stir in the soy sauce, maple syrup, sesame oil, and chili sauce. 3Taste and adjust with additional maple syrup to balance out the soy sauce or more chili sauce to make it spicier. 4Toss the edamame with the sauce and serve.
