Fresh Edamame?

August 24, 2006 7:57 PM

Fresh Edamame?? Anywhere?

We love edamame - steamed with a bit of salt, or tossed hot with some red peppers, maybe some garlic... mmm, mmm, mmm snacking heaven.

However, the only edamame we have been able to find (even in Asian markets here in Vancouver) is frozen edamame.

Is it ever sold fresh? What should I look for? And, what is the season for fresh soy beans? I can find string beans, peas no problem, but no fresh soy beans (in the shell or out) in Vancouver or its suburbs.

If you do have access to fresh off-the-farm soy, where do you live?

posted by seawallrunner to food & drink (17 comments total)

I have no idea where you can get fresh edamame in Vancouver, but the season for fresh edamame is summer (mmm edamame & beer...). The freshest is the kind where you buy them while they're still on the eda (stem), hence "eda-mame" (stem beans).
Not quite answering you question, but I feel for you...
posted by misozaki at 8:02 PM on August 24, 2006

Sorry, that should be eda=branch and "your." Anyway, here in Japan the fresh ones are sold in plastic bags, but right during their season, you can get them in bundles of branches.
posted by misozaki at 8:12 PM on August 24, 2006

I grow my own in my Northern Calif garden from spring to fall: super easy to grow (it's just a bush bean), very tasty, and the inedible parts are great for the compost heap. I buy the seeds (dried beans) from a local Japanese market but I've seen them at Lowe's too.

Found this link for you about growing it in the Pacific NW [PDF download)
posted by jamaro at 8:38 PM on August 24, 2006

I've found them at Whole Foods and Wegman's grocery stores in Baltimore. You can grow some beans in Vancouver apparently, but I don't know about soy beans. Have you tried a farmer's market?
posted by Airhen at 8:39 PM on August 24, 2006

Oh, also, lots of soy beans grown in Iowa.
posted by Airhen at 8:39 PM on August 24, 2006

Second the farmer's market bit. When I was living in Philly, the farmer's markets always had them in fairly hefty pints for a pittance.
posted by Mercaptan at 9:26 PM on August 24, 2006

Have you checked out the new Whole Foods Market in Park Royal?
It's amazing. They must have it.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:03 PM on August 24, 2006

Near Fargo, ND, there's an incredibly cool guy named Thor that grows it on a small farm and sells it at a Farmer's market. It was the first (and best) edamame I'd ever had/made. AFAIK, it's otherwise unavailable in this area until you hit Minneapolis.

Thor S.
Red Goose Gardens
PO Box 157, Shelly, MN 56581

It's probably far too far away, but that's his contact info, anyway. I have his phone and email if you want it- email address in profile.
posted by fake at 12:30 AM on August 25, 2006

If I understand correctly, edamame is soy beans.

Soy beans in various forms are a big part of Korean food, in the pod, or out, or preserved, dried or as sprouts and so on. You may have luck at Korean markets in Vancouver. Soy beans are 콩 (kong, long 'oh' sound) in Korean, if that helps.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:08 AM on August 25, 2006

Did you try Fujiya's? Or T&T Market?

I haven't looked for edamame at either of these places so I don't know for sure but I'd be very surprised if neither of them had it.
posted by kechi at 2:47 AM on August 25, 2006

(And to answer the other parts of your question: In San Francisco they sell fresh edamame at whole foods.)
posted by kechi at 2:55 AM on August 25, 2006

It has been available at the Farmer's Market in Indianapolis recently. I love taking the pods off from the stems myself.
posted by ktrey at 6:03 AM on August 25, 2006

Piggyback question: eh-DAH-mah-meh or eh-dah-MAH-meh? I only ever hear the latter, but it sounds wrong to my ears, reminding me of the way most people over here say 'Hiroshima" as he-ro-SHI-ma.
posted by GeekAnimator at 7:25 AM on August 25, 2006

You might just go to a Japanese restaurant. They will prepare it for you, you can wash it down with a few beers and then perhaps have a bit of Sushi.
posted by caddis at 8:59 AM on August 25, 2006

thank you all for your responses !! I went to farmers' markets in Richmond - no dice.

T&T - the big Asian supermarket chain here in BC only have it frozen (but it's $1 a pack instead of $4 or more at Safeway or Overwaitea/Urban Fare)

Fujiya - I didn't try there yet, hmmm I am in the neighborhood later today I'll drop in.

I'll check out Whole Foods - it's not that far from downtown Vancouver.

I live in a highrise condo, so growing my own is a bit of a quandary. But thank you for the resources!
posted by seawallrunner at 9:22 AM on August 25, 2006

I'm in Iowa, I'm pretty sure you can't buy edamame fresh in stores here -- all that soy you see growing is for animal feed (or seeds), it's not suitable for humans. I wouldn't recommend heading out to Iowa for the soybeans.

That said, my CSA this week had edamame! My recommendation would be to contact CSA (or local equivalent) farmers in your area to see if they or their sister/fellow farmers grow it. It's probably too late to join a CSA this year (in the northern hemisphere anyway), but you may find somebody who would be willing to sell you some.
posted by redheadeb at 5:23 PM on August 25, 2006

Piggyback question: eh-DAH-mah-meh or eh-dah-MAH-meh? I only ever hear the latter, but it sounds wrong to my ears, reminding me of the way most people over here say 'Hiroshima" as he-ro-SHI-ma.

In Japanese, it's pronounced "eh-DAH-mah-meh." But I've only recently learned that the word appears to have become so common in English, so I've no idea how it's supposed to be pronounced in English. BTW Hiroshima is pronounced "he-RO-shi-ma" in Japanese, too.
posted by misozaki at 7:42 PM on August 25, 2006