This Issue’s Summary: Dog Days, make sure to eat these vegetables now, don’t just eat the fruits. The value lies in eating them before they ripen. It’s the perfect time to eat them now.
We’re now in the Dog Days—summertime, the hottest period of the year. During the Dog Days, the body’s metabolism is at its peak, leading to a significant increase in the demand for nutrients. Due to the hot weather, people sweat a lot, resulting in the loss of potassium along with the sweat, making the body prone to potassium deficiency. Potassium ions are crucial for maintaining normal cellular metabolism in the human body. When excessive sweating leads to potassium deficiency, it can cause overall weakness, fatigue, irregular heartbeats, dizziness, and fainting.
What to eat to replenish potassium? Food is better than supplements; edamame, a type of legume, is fresh soybeans in their pods. Edamame contains approximately 450-500 milligrams of potassium per 100 grams, making it a potassium-rich food. Seize the opportunity to eat these vegetables in the summer: don’t just eat the fruits; the real treasure lies in eating them before they ripen. Edamame is widely available in the summer, so now is the perfect time to eat them. Below are several common recipes for edamame that you can prepare for your family; keep your potassium levels in check. Let’s take a look at the recipes:
【Five-Spice Edamame】Ingredients: 1 jin of edamame, salt as needed, about 10 grains of peppercorn, 2 star anise, 1 piece of cinnamon, 3-4 bay leaves, 2-3 dried red chilies.
Preparation steps:
1. Place the edamame in clean water and rub them several times to remove any fuzz and impurities on the surface. Then, rinse them well and drain the water.
2. Break off half of the hooked end of each edamame pod and pull downwards to remove the long string from the middle. Repeat for all the edamame to help them absorb flavors easily and cook faster. This step ensures they won’t turn yellow during cooking.
3. Prepare the seasonings: peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, dried red chilies, and bay leaves. Use a small piece of cinnamon to avoid a bitter taste.
4. Boil water in a pot, add the seasonings and extra salt. Boil for 5 minutes to infuse the flavors.
5. Add the edamame and cook for about 12 minutes over medium heat. Avoid covering the pot during cooking to prevent the edamame from turning yellow. Once cooked, turn off the heat and let the edamame sit in the pot for an hour to absorb the flavors. Ready to serve, green and flavorful.
【Spicy Chilled Edamame】Ingredients: 1 jin of edamame, oil and salt as needed, 1 tablespoon of chili flakes, half tablespoon of Sichuan peppercorn powder, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, half tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, about 10 peppercorns, and 2 star anise.
Preparation steps:
1. Rinse the edamame thoroughly and soak in salted water for 10-15 minutes. Rub off any fuzz on the beans and drain them.
2. Trim both ends of the edamame pods for quicker cooking and better flavor absorption.
3. Boil the edamame with Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes to infuse the flavors. Cook the edamame for around 10 minutes until tender. Remove and let them cool.
4. Chop the garlic, prepare the chili flakes, and Sichuan peppercorn powder. Place them in a bowl.
5. Heat oil until smoking, then pour it over the chili flakes in the bowl. Stir to release the flavors without burning the ingredients.
6. Season with salt, soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, and sugar. Mix well to create the sauce.
7. Toss the cooled edamame in the sauce along with chopped garlic. Stir well, plate, and enjoy the flavorful spiced and chilled edamame.
【Edamame Stir-Fried with Eggs】Ingredients: Half jin of edamame, 4 eggs, oil and salt as needed, 1 spring onion.
Preparation steps:
1. Peel the edamame pods, remove the beans, rinse them in clean water to remove the thin film, drain, and set aside.
2. Chop the spring onion, crack the eggs into a bowl, beat well, season with a little salt, and mix.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add the edamame, stir-fry briefly until they turn green. Add salt, and cook for 2-3 minutes until the edamame are cooked. Add the spring onion, stir-fry, then flatten the beans.
4. Pour the beaten eggs over the edamame, spread out, and let them set over low heat.
5. Once the eggs are slightly set, flip the omelet, cook the other side until fully set.
6. Cut the omelet into pieces, plate, and serve a delicious edamame and egg stir-fry.
【Stir-Fried Edamame with Dried Tofu】Ingredients: 2 pieces of dried tofu, 400 grams of edamame, 1 green chili, 4-5 small dried chilies, oil and salt as needed, 1 shallot, 1 piece of ginger, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate (MSG).
Preparation steps:
1. Peel the edamame, rinse in clean water to remove the thin film, then boil in salted water for 4-5 minutes to remove any raw taste. Quickly cool the edamame in cold water to retain their color.
2. Dice the dried tofu, green chili, shallot, ginger, garlic, and small dried chilies.
3. In a wok, boil water with salt and blanch the edamame for 4-5 minutes. Once done, cool them in cold water.
4. In a hot wok, sauté the shallot, ginger, garlic, and small dried chilies.
5. Add the diced dried tofu, stir-fry over low heat for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add the green chili, edamame, soy sauce, salt, and monosodium glutamate. Stir well, then plate and serve.
【Chilled Edamame Salad】Ingredients: 1 jin of edamame, 3-4 small dried chilies, oil and salt as needed, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, half tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorn powder.
1. Peel the edamame, remove the beans.
2. Rinse the beans in water to remove the thin film.
3. Boil the beans in water with a little salt until they lose their raw taste.
4. Cool the beans in cold water, then drain them.
5. Prepare the sauce: chop the garlic, slice the small dried chilies, add chili powder and Sichuan peppercorn powder into a bowl.
6. Heat oil in a pan, pour over the ingredients in the bowl to release their aroma.
7. Add salt, soy sauce, and sugar; mix well to create the sauce.
8. Place the edamame in a bowl, pour the sauce, mix well, and serve a delicious spiced chilled edamame salad.
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