If it lends itself to all the transformations (milk, flour, tofu …), soy also exists in the form of green beans, crunches, sips of quality protein. Known as edamame, it began to popularize in Western coutries. Discover all the benefits of edamame and how to consume it.
What exactly is this?
They’re still green soy beans. In Japanese, their name (pronounced “édamamé”) means “branch bean”, because they are harvested in pods with their young branches, before full maturity.
In Japan, it is a bit the equivalent (but healthier) of our peanuts at the aperitif: they taste just salted and accompanied by a beer.
If you start to find edamame in some restaurants, this vegetable remains rare in supermarkets. You can find it in Asian grocery stores and frozen shops.
How to prepare edamame?
Fresh, it is necessary to count 4 minutes in boiling water if it’s shelled and 8 minutes with pods. Frozen, the cooking time is substantially the same. Be careful, the pods don’t eat! For an original and fun aperitif, serve them salted or accompanied by a spicy sauce (soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and chili). Just press the pod with your fingers to sauté the beans in the mouth.
What are his nutritional advantages?
It is rich in quality protein and iron, two interesting elements for vegetarians. It allows to compose balanced meat plates, in combination with cereals (rice, quinoa), green vegetables and a little lemon juice or parsley, whose richness in vitamin C promotes the absorption of vegetable iron. It is well endowed with calcium, and perfect for ensuring good bone and dental growth in young people. What about the Phyto-estrogens contained in soy? There is no consensus on the subject: some studies show positive effects, others have negative effects … Today, soy is only discouraged in women who have or have had breast cancer.
Green vegetable or legume?
With its 120 cal/100 g, the edamame is not part of the green vegetables (30 cal/100 g on average) but legumes, although it differs from lentils, chickpeas and other dry beans by a much shorter cooking time and a higher lipid content (6% on average). Good news is polyunsaturated fatty acids, excellent for the cardiovascular system.
The best way to cook it?
We appreciate the edamame for its crunchy texture. On the other hand, it is quite neutral to taste. It is slid into vegetarian salads based on quinoa, pepper and corn, or rice, feta and tomatoes. or sauté it in the wok with broccoli flowers, carrot sticks, mini corn … One can also make it a kind of original “hummus”, crushed with tahini (sesame cream) or a yogurt for a light version, more garlic and lemon juice.
The top health selection
Ready after a few minutes of thawing, these édamame are accompanied by a soy sauce to be crunched at the aperitif.
