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Saturday, April 09, 2011

soramame

Have you ever cooked with soramame (fava beans)? I hadn't until the other day.

I think the reason I hadn't tried this vegetable was because of the price. For 7 pods, it was 298 yen (about US$2.98).

What surprised me even more, is that there are only 1 or 2 beans per pod.

When you open a pod, it looks like the bean is packed in a soft sponge.

I read something online that says you need to take this little nub off, so I did.

Then I washed them and put them in a rice cooker to cook.

This is where I failed...

You know you've failed when you open the rice cooker and the beans are blackish and not a beautiful green...

Afterwards, I read online that you should only cook them for about 2 minutes...agh.

By cooking them in the rice cooker I had overcooked them.

Also, after cooking for the two minutes, you are supposed to remove the skins...agh(again).

Oh well, at least we got fiber and this was still quite tasty...I'm going to try this again, soon.
at

17 comments:

  1. Kathy YL Chan12:21 AM, April 09, 2011

    Hi Kat! Boy, that is expensive! I haven't cooked with fava beans either, but these tips are good to know. Looking forward to see how they turn out next time :)

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  2. jalna1:58 AM, April 09, 2011

    Hey, that bean looks familiar. I remember it in some kind of kaki mochi snack that also had dried peas in it. It was hard and had a thick skin that wasn't edible. Haven't seen it in awhile.

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  3. Anonymous3:46 AM, April 09, 2011

    Back in Hawaii, we have the frozen variety. Parboil for a couple of minutes, peel off the inner skin, sprinkle with salt, delicious. I believe the frozen fava beans come from Japan. I found them at Marukai and Don Quijote. Good luck.

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  4. Deb in Hawaii6:20 AM, April 09, 2011

    I have not found them fresh at a good price to cook with yet but I have heard they can be a bit of a pain to deal with. ;-) oh, well you will be prepared for next time.

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  5. Nami @ Just One Cookbook8:23 AM, April 09, 2011

    I never liked soramame, even after I tried to eat them on many occasions. Just don't like the taste. How about you?

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  6. Jann8:23 AM, April 09, 2011

    Oh, I love these....hard to find fresh at times.....

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  7. K and S9:11 AM, April 09, 2011

    Hope you get a chance to cook with them too Kathy :)

    Yeah I think I know which one you are talking about Jalna :)

    Thanks Anon!

    Definitely Deb in Hawaii :)

    I like the taste Nami, will try it again soon.

    Thanks Jann, nice to hear from you :)

    Take care everyone.
    Kat

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  8. genkitummy12:02 AM, April 10, 2011

    Thanks for sharing your fava bean experiment with us. Now if I ever purchase fave beans at the store I'l know how long to cook them. I'm looking forward to seeing your other attempts!

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  9. K and S8:53 AM, April 10, 2011

    Thanks Genki :)

    Take care.
    Kat

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  10. Kris B12:35 AM, April 11, 2011

    Grew them in my garden a few years ago, and then the local newspaper ran a feature about them with recipes from the Mediterranean and the Middle East. They were delicious with parsley, mint, curly pasta, etc. but yes, a lot of work to get enough shelled and peeled for a full meal. I have read that they have a lot of health benefits, and if you save some and dry them one year, you can plant them for your next crop!

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  11. manju2:42 AM, April 11, 2011

    I've only used the dried or frozen ones so I probably would have over-cooked hem too. Thanks for the heads' up!

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  12. K and S7:44 AM, April 11, 2011

    That does sound like a yummy way to have them Kris!

    very welcome Manju :)

    Take care you two.
    Kat

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  13. Marie8:15 AM, April 11, 2011

    What a finicky bean! I think I've only had fava beans in restaurants, though I have heard they are tough to work with. Good luck for your next try! :)

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  14. Rowena3:52 PM, April 11, 2011

    I couldn't really tell from the pic but the pods sure look much shorter than the ones I buy. And usually there's at least 5-6 beans in a pod. I don't take off the outer "skin" because I'm lazy and it tastes good anyway. Next time I'll remember to take pics and share recipe, but I hope you'll meet with success on your next try!

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  15. K and S4:24 PM, April 11, 2011

    Thanks Marie :)

    Wow yours is a better deal with 5-6 in a pod, Rowena :)

    Take care you two.
    Kat

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  16. h5:31 AM, April 13, 2011

    The color actually looks about right for cooked fava beans! They are delicious in a mid-eastern dish called foul m'damas (also spelled fool/ful mudammas/medames - in addition to a variety of other spellings). Each mid-eastern country has their own version, I am most familiar with the Egyptian and Lebanese version which is Fava beans (either whole or mashed) in a broth of lemon juice and olive oil, with chopped tomatoes, onion, parsley and garlic. It's eaten with pita, which can be used to scoop up the beans and tomatoes, or to soak up the broth. Here's the wikipedia article about it, and if you google any of the various spellings (I am most familiar with foul m'damas), you'll find some good recipes.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ful_medames

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  17. K and S8:00 AM, April 14, 2011

    Thanks H!

    Take care.
    Kat

    ReplyDelete

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