Edamame-- A 'Recipe' for Summer or Beer

枝豆　Edamame... "twig beans", immature soybeans still on the twig

The first time I ate Edamame at a friend's house, I was very rude.

I think I snarfed nearly the entire bowl down all by myself.

Those were some *good* beans--still slightly warm, salty, and my friend's mother gave us all glasses of cold beer to go with.  It doesn't get much better on a hot summer day, let me tell you:-)

See how hairy they are? 

I can buy them still on the branch in the store, or picked off and bagged, or already prepared in the deli section.

If you're fixing them yourself, just pick them off, rinse them well, and throw them into a pot of boiling saltwater for eight or ten minutes (take one out, run it under cold water, and bite out a bean to check whether it's done or not).

We had these for pre-supper munchies while I was making dinner and the kids were working on homework.

All gone!  Gochisousama deshita!  (It was a feast:-))