Cooking edamame pods
Bring to boil a large pot of salted water, toss the pods in and cook for 5 mins. after the water returns to a boil. To use in salads and stir-fries, just pop the steamed beans out of their pods and into your salad or wok.
For Japanese-style snacking, cook pods as above then drain in a colander. Toss with flaked sea salt and serve immediately. (In place of popcorn!) You can put the whole pod in your mouth, drag it across your teeth popping out the beans as you go. YUM!
Simple edamame salad
Combine edamame with a bit of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, snippets of fresh herbs, sliced cherry tomatoes, slivered red onion and cooked quinoa. Season with salt and pepper.
You can freeze edamame, too. Parboil as above and then stick them in ice water. Drain thoroughly. Spread the pods on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze till they’re solid. Pack the frozen beans in plastic bags taking out as much air as possible. They’ll keep for several months.