For my daughter’s 10th birthday, I took 15 giggling girls to dinner at a Japanese steakhouse.
Let that sink in for a moment. Because I probably could stop right here and let this column just explore the wisdom of that parenting decision. And in case you were wondering what the right number of fourth graders is to take out for a teppanyaki dinner, the answer is not 15.
If you’ve been to a teppanyaki restaurant, you know that the chefs put on a spectacle for the diners, cooking the meal tableside on giant griddles — spinning knives, tossing utensils, drumming out rhythmic beats with oversized salt and pepper shakers, and dazzling the crowd with their stacks of onions lit into volcanos.
But the exciting theatrics were not the highlight of the evening. Turns out it was the bowls of edamame that thrilled the girls most. Steamed soybeans beat out flaming poofs of oil-fueled fire. Who knew?
Whether the girls felt trendy squeezing the little beans out of the pods and into their mouths or actually just loved the mild flavor and firm texture, I’m not sure. But everyone seemed to love edamame.
The good news is edamame don’t just appeal to young girls. They are delicious and nothing at all like tofu (the better known soy food). And frozen edamame are available at nearly every grocery store these days, which means this nutritious bean can easily join your home cooking repertoire. And a half cup of shelled edamame has about 10 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber with just 100 calories.
To showcase edamame’s versatility, I’ve created this recipe for edamame and walnut lettuce wraps. Though Japanese in spirit, it skews Mexican in flavor. I pair tasty, firm edamame with crunchy walnuts and some spices to make a cold vegetarian “meat” for lettuce wraps or tacos. Vegans will love this recipe, but so will meat-lovers.
I mix up a batch of the filling, then eat it for lunch or snacks for several days, reminding me that edamame are so much more than just a teppanyaki prelude.