Easy and quick to make charred garlic edamame recipe loaded with natural umami and tossed with garlicky lemon butter. A healthy edamame snack that only takes 15 minutes to make!
Around here, for the longest time, edamame has always been boiled or steamed and served straight up with salt. I wanted to switch it up a bit and give this edamame recipe a bit more garlic flavor.
When I decided to make this garlic edamame recipe, I wanted to give it a bit of a flavour kick without masking the natural sweetness and umami flavours from the actual beans so I combined the simple flavours of garlic, lemon, and butter to give this snack/appetizer a bit of tang and buttery-ness and a whole lotta garlic flavour.
I like to make this garlic edamame when I'm having chilled buckwheat noodles (zaru soba with a dipping sauce) because it doesn't take much time and it complements it well since they both are very simple dishes.
If you're looking for more easy healthy snacks, I also highly recommend trying my Crispy Candied Walnuts, Lotus Root Chips, Pickled Daikon Radish, and Roasted Okra recipe!
Lemon Garlic Edamame Ingredients
- Edamame - I buy my edamame frozen and whole (still in its pods) because fresh edamame is hard to come by from where I am. It also keeps for quite a bit in the freezer as well so it's convenient to just have it around whenever you want a snack.
- Salt - To keep things simple, I use salt but if you want a bit more flavor you definitely can use soy sauce instead.
- Chili Oil/Sriracha - To make this a spicy edamame, you can toss it with a bit of chili oil or sriracha at the very end.
- Furikake (Optional) - For some extra flavor, you can sprinkle on some homemade furikake seasoning as well.
How to Cook Edamame
Charring the Edamame & Keeping it Moist
When you char the edamame, you want to make sure that the pan is hot so that the bean pods can blister and char. I like to use a heavy bottom frying pan (like cast iron skillets) because it maintains a hot consistent heat but any kind of frying pan will work.
You don't need any oil to get the charring to happen. We want to char the edamame not fry it 🙂
Depending on how hot your stove is, the time will vary on how long it will take to get charred so don't walk away from the stove and lift up a pod every minute to check how the color and charring is going.
When you char the edamame, it will suck a bit of the moisture out and make it slightly tougher to eat, so it's important not to overdo it with the charring because it will dry it out a bit. A way for me to work around keeping the pods moist is to steam them right after you pull them off the stove by covering them in a bowl with a plate or towel while you are preparing the garlic butter.
How To Eat Edamame
Whenever you eat edamame (shell on), you don't actually eat the whole pod. You can try but you'll end up with not-so-tasty waxy bits in your mouth that are hard to break down. The edamame bean is actually encased in a waxy shell under the skin.
Usually, you can squeeze the beans against the seams with your fingers to pop them out of the pods but in a messier situation like this when there is a sauce involved, you can use 1 hand and hold the pod by the tip (I usually like holding it by the stem area) and then on the opposite end of the pod, bite down against a bean to put pressure on the upper or side seams to pop them up out. Once one bean pops out, and an opening is created, the rest of the beans can be easily shimmied out with your teeth! 🙂
How Long to Keep Cooked Edamame
You can store cooked edamame for up to 5 days in the fridge.
FAQs
No, you cannot eat edamame shells, there is a layer of waxy skin under the skin that is tough to chew and digest.
Some Japanese Recipes You May Like
- Kani Salad (Japanese Crab Salad)
- Sesame Crusted Teriyaki Salmon
- Zaru Soba (Chilled Soba Noodles) with Genmaicha Tare Sauce
- Chicken Teriyaki Yaki Udon
- Spicy Sriracha Mayo
- Maple Curry Yaki Udon
If you like my recipes and want to be updated on when new ones come out, please consider subscribing to my newsletter (we don't spam) and follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for all of my latest recipes!
Recipe Card
Charred Lemon Garlic Edamame Recipe
Joyce's Recipe Notes
- If you want to make this spicy, you can toss it in a bowl with a bit of chili oil or sriracha on it.
Ingredients
- 250 g frozen edamame (whole pods, approximately 2 cups)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (add 1-2 more teaspoon more if you like it a bit more tangy)
- ¼ teaspoon lemon zest (optional, for a more lemony flavour)
- Salt to taste (or soy sauce)
- chili oil or sriracha (optional, to make it spicy)
Instructions
Preparing & Charring the Edamame
- Place the frozen edamame in a bowl and soak it in hot water for 5 minutes. (If you are using fresh edamame, you can skip this step)
- In a skillet, set the heat to medium heat and wait until it gets very hot. You do not need to put oil into the pan, since we are aiming to char it and not fry it.
- Once the pan is very hot, add the edamame in, in a single layer. We want to make sure the pods are touching the bottom of the pan. Char it for 2-3 minutes per side.
- When the edamame is charred, transfer it to a bowl and cover the bowl with a towel or plate and let it it steam while you make the lemon garlic butter.
Making the Lemon Garlic Butter & Putting it Together
- Finely chop the garlic and set aside.
- In a pan, set the stove to low heat and add in the butter.
- Once the butter has melted, add in the garlic and toast the garlic. Garlic burns faster on the outter edges of the pan so make sure you keep stirring to keep it moving.
- Once the garlic looks golden yellow, remove it from the heat and pour into the bowl with the edamame
- Add in the lemon juice into the bowl and mix everything together
- Toss it with a bit of salt. Do a taste test with one of the edamame to make sure it is the right amount of saltiness for you and adjust the salt according to your taste. Alternatively, you can also use a bit of soy sauce instead of salt.
- (Optional) Add in the lemon zest if you want it more lemony flavoured
- Serve immediately. It tastes best when it is still warm.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*
Cyn Gagen says
This recipe is amazing! I tried it over the weekend and I'll be serving it often, that's for sure!
Joyce says
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay! I am so happy you like it! I definitely love doing this to switch up the flavours too! 🙂