Quick steamed edamame hors d’oeuvres paired with a simple hoisin dipping sauce and toasted sesame seeds.
Exactly one year ago I was about one week in to our incredible honeymoon. I was sipping on champagne by the pool aboard the Celebrity Reflection, with just my hubby and a stack of Bon Appetit’s for company. We were dining on delicious food every night in the specialty restaurants, and visiting new cities every day, filled with new experiences. It was such an incredible vacation, and I loved getting to spend it with my husband most of all.
I can’t believe how lucky I am to be returning to the same cruise ship with the hubby in the fall! On last years’ honeymoon we took their Eastern Mediterranean cruise, and this year we will be going back to Europe for the Western Mediterranean cruise, with 3 nights in beautiful Roma tacked on to the trip as well.
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The food on the cruise and in the cities we visited was probably my number one favorite thing about our trip, which I guess is a pretty predictable thing for me to say. We chose to purchase an extra dinner package which allowed us to eat in all four of the “specialty” restaurants on board, which featured different cuisines like Italian and French. In addition, there is a newer addition restaurant to the Celebrity cruise line called Sushi on 5. From my research online, it seems that this change from their old Bistro on 5 restaurant into a sushi place was not a universally welcomed change. But let me tell you – from me and the hubby’s POV it was incredible! Having delicious sushi made right in front of you, paired with tasty Asian-inspired cocktails, huge bowls of steaming ramen, and a table side wasabi preparation? Yes, please. Yes, please!
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As we sat in the mostly empty restaurant sipping on aged cachaca cocktails, slurping up lobster ramen with miso butter (yes, I said lobster ramen with miso butter), and popping freshly steamed edamame beans out of their pods, I couldn’t figure it out. Why is this place not packed?
From what I can tell online, sushi does not seem to be the hottest cuisine choice with Europeans, and this may be part of the reason why on our heavily-European-laden cruise there seemed to be a lack of interest in the restaurant. But that was fine with us: we never waited for a table and always had exceptional food and service!
Which brings me to these edamame. It’s been a pretty constant stream of edamame cravings since the cruise ended almost a year ago, and I was so excited the day I found bags of edamame in the freezer at my local grocery store! I promptly purchased six bags and went home and steamed one. I may or may not have eaten that entire first bag myself.
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And so this recipe is inspired by the beautiful simplicity of the edamame served on our cruise, with just a dusting of Himalayan sea salt. I paired my steamed edamame with a quick hoisin dipping sauce, in addition to a little sea salt. Now, to be totally honest, this dipping sauce is modeled off the dipping sauce that came with our dumpling appetizer. Buttttt…. it was so incredibly delicious that we ended up dipping all of our edamame pods in there before eating them too. So, here’s to double duty sauces!
Now it’s your turn: what is your favorite way to prepare or serve edamame? Share with me by commenting below!
- 1 ten-ounce bag of frozen edamame
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Steam edamame in the microwave or over the stove according to directions on packaging. Allow to cool for 3-5 minutes prior to serving.
- While edamame is steaming, prepare sauce. In a small bowl, combine hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil and stir until combined.
- Serve edamame with hoisin dipping sauce and enjoy!
Sarah is a food blogger from Metro Detroit who believes that gourmet food should be accessible to all home cooks. 
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