Edamame Salad Is My Favorite “Found” (by Accident) Recipe
By: Kaz Matsune
Tags: Asian, Cooking, Recipe, Japanese Food, Food

Image by Albert Law for Kaz Matsune

I never imagined Edamame could be turned into a Salad.

In Japan where I grew up, Edamame was served only one way: boiled with a sprinkle of salt. The only variation was either hot or room temperature. That was it (or you could use table salt or sea salt.)

You’ve seen it — at Japanese and Sushi restaurant in the US and wherever sushi is served.

Fresh Edamame is an excellent (healthy) snack in summer — a perfect companion to a glass full of draft beer at Beer Gardens in Japan.

These days, it’s hard to get fresh Edamame, especially if you are in the US, as most are precooked frozen kind. But if you ever get a chance to taste the fresh one, you will taste the difference like night and day. It’s worth it.

Where can you find the fresh Edamame? Try your local farmer’s market.

If not, you can grow it in your backyard — easily. (OK, I haven’t grown Edamame, but I have seen my dad do it and looked easy, or so he said.)

Then I met Edamame salad in Sonoma.

My wife and I drove to Sonoma on one weekend. At the local supermarket deli section, I saw peeled edamame salad with red bell peppers, julienned carrots, and onions.

“Edamame….salad?” I said to my wife. “Yes, this looks really good. Let’s buy it.” She usually notices and buys new things before I do (this is why I married her.)

“Oh, it tastes nice. Vinegary (is that a word?) and tasty.”

That was when I said, “Maybe I can do better and put this on our private sushi dinner menu.”

I started with vinegar because it will be the foundation for this salad. Like the body of a car, the material for the dress- cotton, silk, or linen. Apple cider vinegar was good but lacked a character. Fruit vinegar seemed like the way to go, but fig was too strong (and dark). I tried strawberry, peach, and pear, none of which made me go, “Ahhh!”

It was time to change the direction. That was when I met Champagne vinegar- a perfect match for Edamame.

The rest came much easier — fresh lemon juice, EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil), Himalayan salt, and of course my favorite sweeter, agave to finish. The edamame salad was done. (big thanks to the original chef who invented it.)

Whenever we host a private sushi dinner, this is a great starter — refreshing and satisfying.

It tastes the best second day, but the color of Edamame will change darker because of the marinate. That is the trade-off. If you want to go for the taste, don’t mind how it looks, I would let it marinate overnight in the fridge and taste it the next day. If you want it to look nicer, marinate for less than six hours before serve.

Edamame Salad (serves 4–6)

Ingredients

Edamame, Peeled, Frozen or fresh ½ lbs.

Red Bell Pepper (can mix yellow and orange) 1 whole

Olive Oil 3 Tbl

Champagne Vinegar 6 Tbl

Lemon Juice 2 Tbl

Himalayan Salt 3 Tbl

Agave nectar 2 Tbl.

Instructions

In a pot boil water and cook edamame for 3–5 minutes. Drain water and let it cool down. Small dice red bell pepper, add to cooked Edamame. Marinate edamame and bell pepper in vinegar for at least three hours. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and agave nectar to taste. Let it marinate for five minutes before serving.

Kaz Matsune is a founder of Breakthrough Sushi, Two Places Technologies, investor, entrepreneur, and author of four books including How I Became A Sushi Chef.

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