Japanese seven spice

While Peggy and I were staying in Carlsbad, we spent an afternoon shopping in the Cedros Design District in nearby Solana Beach. It’s one of my “must-do treks” whenever I’m in the San Diego area.

Most often, I go shopping there by myself and don’t stop for lunch, but lunch was a must so we could keep with our theme of “Shopping, Drinking, and Eating.”

We actually ended up eating and drinking twice during the long afternoon, both times at the Wild Note Cafe, on Cedros Avenue. During our second stop, we had the best edamame of our young lives.

Of course, upon my return home, I promptly figured out the (very easy) recipe.

Enjoy!

First, a word about the Japanese seven-spice. It can be difficult to find. I looked in the grocery store, no luck. Then I went to Cost Plus World Market, and after much searching and armed with the fact that I knew exactly what I was looking for, I found it. It was not marked “Japanese seven-spice” but rather by one of its other names, Nanami Togarashi. You can, of course, also find it on Amazon.

Japanese seven spice, also known as shichimi togarashi or nana-iro (nanami) togarashi or simply shichimi, is a common Japanese spice mixture containing seven ingredients.

A typical blend contains:

coarsely ground red chili pepper (the main ingredient)
ground sansho
roasted orange peel
black sesame seed
white sesame seed
hemp seed
ground ginger
nori

Trust me, it’s worth taking the extra effort and making a special trip to find it.

Grilled Edamame with Japanese Seven Spice

1 pound edamame in the shell
Salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame or chili oil
3 tablespoons Japanese seven spice, divided

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a tablespoon of salt. Add the edamame and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold running water. Set aside.

Heat a grill pan over high heat.

In a medium bowl, mix together the olive oil, sesame oil, and 1  1/2 tablespoons of the Japanese seven spice. Add the drained edamame to the bowl and toss to coat.

Cook the edamame in the grill pan in batches.

Return to the bowl and toss with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of Japanese seven-spice and salt to taste.

Serve immediately.