edamame

[ ed-uh-mah-mey ]

plural noun

1. unripe, green soybeans that are steamed or boiled in their pods.

Word History and Origins

Origin of edamame¹

1950-55; < Japanese eda branch, twig + mame beans

Example Sentences

Want more protein in your diet Dandrea-Russert recommends adding beans, lentils, peas, edamame, tofu, tempeh, nuts, seeds, whole grains and nutritional yeast.

From Salon

Other dinner ideas for the week include edamame pesto pasta, with a new nut-free pesto recipe, and sheet-pan roast chicken with kale and olives.

From New York Times

You'll find alternative pastas made from edamame, brown rice, black beans, lentils, mung beans, and even kelp.

From Salon

And if those blocks of soy protein just aren’t your jam, she suggested snacking on soy nuts, steaming some edamame or making smoothies with unsweetened soy milk.

From Seattle Times

The feedback resulted in a few new items this year, including kung pao chicken with vegetables over rice; a ramen bowl with edamame; and a carnitas bowl to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in October.

From Los Angeles Times

More About Edamame

What are edamame?

Edamame are unripe soybeans.

Edamame are soybeans that are picked while green and unripe and then steamed, boiled, or roasted in their pods. Each pod contains one to four beans.

Edamame is normally eaten as a side dish or appetizer in Japanese and Asian fusion cuisine. When eaten as a side dish, it’s usually served within the pod with a soy sauce or glaze. Generally you only eat the beans, not the pods. The pods aren’t poisonous, but they are hard to chew and don’t digest well.

Shelled edamame can be used in salads, poke bowls, noodle dishes, soups, and other dishes. 

Edamame is both singular and plural, meaning it can refer to each seed individually, a group of seeds, each pod, or a group of pods. 

Example: The first time I had edamame, I didn’t know you were supposed to take off the shells before eating them.

Where does edamame come from?

The first records of the term edamame in English come from around the 1950s. It is a borrowing from Japanese that combines the terms eda, meaning “twig,” and mame, meaning “beans.”

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for edamame?

• soybeans

What are some words that often get used in discussing edamame?

• Japanese
• peel
• shell
• pod
• snack
• salad

How is edamame used in real life?

Edamame is a popular food common in Japanese cuisine. Edamame are often used in salads and in sushi dishes but are also often eaten on their own. 

Eating food that you have to work for is so satisfying.. Like edamame or nuts you gotta break

— Shawn Mendes (@ShawnMendes) January 30, 2015

What did the edamame say to the lentil? How have you bean? #ClassicJokeFriday

— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) May 1, 2015

My eyes were bigger than my stomach. Nessa got some sushi with edamame and I got gyoza, spicy tuna on crispy rice, teriyaki chicken with rice, a salad, and miso soup 🤦🏻‍♀️

— Veronica Merrell (@veronicamerrell) June 5, 2018

 

Try using edamame!

True or False?

Edamame are overripe soybeans.