Edamame Soup with Wasabi Cream
Every now and then I get a wild and crazy food idea that refuses to go away. This one came to me while I chatted on the phone with my mom about (what else) food. We were going back and forth throwing out ideas for dinner and healthy proteins, when all of a sudden I said “Oooh, what if I made a soup out of edamame? That could be really cool!” Supportive as always, my mom said, “That sounds interesting.” Then I replied, “I could even drizzle a bit of a wasabi cream on top.” Moving quickly, I snatched a nearby post-it note and wrote down, “Edamame Soup with Wasabi Cream”. And then, like most great ideas, the post-it note languished under a pile of papers on my desk for the next three months. Sad but true.
A New Year’s cleaning binge resurrected the post-it note and with a batch of homemade vegetable stock waiting in the fridge, I could ignore the crazy idea no longer. It only took a quick sauté of vegetables, followed by a short simmer of broth and edamame, and the soup was ready in less than 30 minutes. Much like fresh peas, edamame can have a fibrous texture and it was necessary to puree the soup in a blender to achieve a smooth split pea soup consistency. Unlike split-peas, edamame gave the dish a bright, fresh, and almost grassy flavor reminiscent of springtime (which was very welcome in January!). Lightly scented with ginger and spiked with a dollop of wasabi cream, we enjoyed this creamy fresh soup quite a bit.
So if you are bored with the usual line-up of healthy soups and want to shake it up, grab some frozen edamame and get crazy with your soup pot! The results may be surprisingly delicious.
Serves 4-6 (As a starter course)
Ingredients:
Soup
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, diced
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 ” piece of ginger, peeled and diced
26 ounces shelled edamame, about 4 cups, (frozen is fine)
4 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Wasabi Cream
1/4 cup sour cream (light is fine)
1/2 teaspoon pure wasabi powder
Directions:
Place a large stockpot over medium heat. Add in olive oil, sesame oil, garlic, shallots, onion, and ginger. Saute until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Next add shelled edamame to the pot and stir to break up any frozen chunks. Add in the vegetable stock and bring soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.
While the soup is simmering make the wasabi cream. In a small bowl mix together the sour cream and wasabi powder until well combined. Let sit while the soup cooks and the flavor will develop.
When the soup is finished simmering, add salt to the pot, and puree the mixture in a blender until smooth. Serve hot with a swirl of wasabi cream on top.
Postscript: The lovely Mayberry Magpie sent me the nutrition information for this soup.
Per Serving – Calories: 169 Fat: 7.9g Fiber: 3.7g Protien: 11.5g




White on Rice Couple said..
LOVE the wasabi cream, that's a brilliant idea! But wish you had posted this earlier, the wasabi cream would definitely have been added to yesterdays batch. Thanks for the great idea for next time!
The pictures are beautiful! wanna lick the computer screen.
-diane and todd
January 7, 2010 @ 8:52 am
TKW said..
You are such a Renegade!!! Awesome idea! And as always, your photos rock.
January 7, 2010 @ 8:58 am
Alanna Kellogg said..
Beautiful color!
January 7, 2010 @ 9:11 am
North West London Girl said..
Healthy and tasty, very high up on my list of slimming foods – ate far too much over the festive period ….
January 7, 2010 @ 9:34 am
Screwed Up Texan said..
I'm coming to your house. Where do you live again?
On second thought, I bet it's cold there. Wait…it's cold here too.
Seriously though your photos and recipes get better and better each day!
January 7, 2010 @ 10:12 am
MP said..
You've succeeded in making my mouth water! Seriously, I'm a drooling mess.
January 7, 2010 @ 11:09 am
unconfidential cook said..
Brilliant! And I bet it's good now that it's minus 52 just a little north of you according to a friend of mine. I think this weather calls for another visit to LA!
January 7, 2010 @ 11:50 am
MaryMoh said..
I love edamame but have never made into a soup like this. Looks delicious and healthy. Thanks for sharing.
January 7, 2010 @ 11:59 am
Erin H. said..
So, SO creative.
January 7, 2010 @ 2:16 pm
Bob said..
That's awesome. I never would have thought to make a soup out of edamame! Great pictures, too.
January 7, 2010 @ 2:39 pm
Madalene said..
Love the presentation and photos! Will definatly try this recipe great combo edamame and wasabi, yum!
January 7, 2010 @ 5:18 pm
Daily Spud said..
Looks and sounds delightful! No idea whether it'll be easy to source edamame here – must keep an eye out for it.
January 7, 2010 @ 6:59 pm
Cathy said..
What a great idea! Looks delicious. And what a cute little bowl too!
January 7, 2010 @ 10:23 pm
Chiara “Kika” Assi said..
oh my god, that sounds delicious! I've been on an edamame kick lately and I'm happy to find out new ways to enjoy it! They make an edamame soup at Whole Foods, but it's kind of bland… this sounds much better!
January 8, 2010 @ 9:12 am
Mayberry Magpie said..
Girrrrrrrrrrl (I never say Girrrrrrrrrl), this is going to be my go-to soup in 2010, I can just tell.
I'm on a kick you know — eating healthy, working out. And I NEED to feel like I'm eating something yummy (but within my caloric limits) to stay on the wagon.
Making this soup on Saturday! If it's as wonderful as I imagine, I'll give you credit when I lose 22 pounds.
January 8, 2010 @ 12:29 pm
M. A. Salha said..
Great idea and great cooking! This is my favourite post of yours.
January 8, 2010 @ 2:04 pm
Nelda McEwen said..
Ms. Phoo-D, ……I love you. Please keep doing what you do.
January 8, 2010 @ 2:09 pm
Phoo-D said..
WORC- Thank you! Coming from you that is a huge compliment! =)
TKW- Wild and crazy, that's me
Alanna- Thank you.
NWLondonGirl- Yes, I did too. Slimming soups are the only reason my pants fit right now!
Allie- You're welcome to come anytime, though the low temperature is -30 tonight, so it may be too cold for you!
MP- Hee hee, thanks!
Catherine- I think this weather calls for relocation to L.A.! Seriously tempting.
Mary- If you like edamame then you would enjoy this soup.
Erin & Bob- Aww, thanks!
Madalene- Thank you, wasabi makes everything more interesting.
DailySpud- I can usually find mine in the frozen section. Hope you can locate a few!
Cathy- Thank you. I look for any excuse to use those bowls. I love them!
Chiara- Perfect! I've never seen the soup at WF, I'll have to keep an eye out for it.
Mayberry- I'm right there with you! There have been a lot of low-fat/low-cal soups around our house since x-mas. Let me know how you like it.
M.A.- Thank you very much!
January 8, 2010 @ 2:17 pm
Anonymous said..
Holy cow! At your night time temps (-30f) you could flash-freeze just about anything you want! Beautiful photos and presentation!
January 8, 2010 @ 3:52 pm
Phoo-D said..
Anonymous- Very true! I must confess that I actually have ice rings on my deck from where my soup pot melted the snow when I set it out to cool extra fast! =)
January 8, 2010 @ 3:54 pm
Brooke said..
This soup sounds amazing!
January 8, 2010 @ 8:42 pm
Nicole said..
This sounds great and will be a perfect way to use up that bag of frozen edamame that I bought to snack on but always forget about. Also have some sour cream to use up and was thinking yesterday about making some vegetable stock. I think I'll do this today. Thanks
January 10, 2010 @ 8:56 am
Phoo-D said..
Brooke- Thanks!
Nicole- That would be a perfect way to use it. Let me know how you like the soup!
January 10, 2010 @ 9:51 am
Genie said..
That sounds delicious…and I happen to have vegetable stock in the freezer right now. Now just need to get the rest of the ingredients!
January 10, 2010 @ 11:16 am
Katherine said..
I made this soup tonight and it tasted amazing. The ginger and the wasabi cream really give it a nice kick. Thanks for the recipe!
January 10, 2010 @ 7:57 pm
Phoo-D said..
Katherine- Thank you for the feedback. I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! =)
January 10, 2010 @ 9:02 pm
Charles G Thompson said..
I love how there is all this 'healthy' food appearing on so many sites right now – I know I feel like I need to eat healthy after the holidays. This just sounds (and looks) so, well, uhm – healthy. I'm going to add it in to this week's dinner ideas. Thanks!
January 10, 2010 @ 10:59 pm
Bryan said..
That looks great! I Love Edamame, I like the way you think.
January 11, 2010 @ 5:08 am
lostpastremembered said..
What a great idea to combine edamame and wasabi…2 of my favorite things and a great recipe to boot..thanks!
January 11, 2010 @ 8:57 am