Lemon Ginger Edamame

First, happy holidays to everyone reading this!  If you're finished cooking your Christmas dinner and you're looking for a healthy snack to tide you over until tomorrow morning, read on.

I am a little bit obsessed with edamame. But after ordering it as takeout from my favorite sushi restaurant night after night, I decided there has to be a way to make it myself. Except the only place I've ever seen edamame is in sushi restaurants -- I've never gone to the grocery store and noticed a big bin of fresh soybean pods. But where, I wondered, do the sushi restaurants get their edamame?

Finally, I had a breakthrough. I could buy frozen edamame pods and boil them myself (brilliant, I know). But once I realized that, I knew that my edamame needed a dipping sauce. A tart, tangy dipping sauce to compliment the mild, salty flavor of the edamame. After a little experimentation, my dipping sauce became a dressing of sorts, tossed with the edamame pods after they were boiled. This would make a really unique holiday party appetizer, or just a healthy pre-Christmas snack!

Lemon Ginger Edamame

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb frozen edamame in pods

1 cup water

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp canola oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp garlic powder

DIRECTIONS:

1. In medium saucepan, combine water, salt and frozen edamame. Heat water to a boil, cover, and steam for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. In a small bowl, combine sesame oil, canola oil, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, ginger and garlic powder. Whisk until combined.

3. Remove edamame from water, drain. Toss with lemon dressing, and serve.

Serves 4.