Edamame NukazukeBoil in Salt, Cool, and Pickle 1 to 1½ Days

Edamame are young soybeans, picked green. They can’t be eaten raw, so boil them in salted water, cool them completely, and pickle them in their pods. After 1 to 1½ days, the bran has soaked in through the pods and the thin skins on the beans have softened.

Fresh edamame in the pod are sometimes hard to find outside Japan. Frozen edamame in the pod also work; thaw them and pat them dry before pickling.

Prep	Rub with salt, boil 5 minutes, cool and pat dry
Pickling time	24–36 hours
After pickling	Keep in the fridge and eat by the next day

Pickling times are for a nuka bed kept in the fridge. At room temperature it pickles faster, and faster still in summer. The saltiness of your bed also makes a difference.

How to make edamame nukazuke

1. Wash and rub with salt: Rinse quickly, sprinkle with salt and rub it in. This removes the fuzz and helps them boil to a bright color.
2. Boil: Put the edamame, salt and all, into boiling water and boil for 5 minutes.
3. Cool completely: Drain in a colander, let them cool completely, and pat dry well. Putting warm food in the bed weakens the lactic acid bacteria.
4. Pickle: Put them in the nuka bed in their pods and cover with bran.
5. Take them out: Rinse the bran off the pods, drain and serve.

From bed to plate

Served up and ready. Perfect with beer, of course.

How to eat it

• As is: A gentle sourness and savoriness you don’t get from plain salted edamame.
• Shelled: Mix the beans into rice, or scatter them over a salad.

Care for your bed is covered in Caring for a Nuka Bed. To dry it instead, see dried edamame.