Sushi Night Cooking Class + Toasted Edamame Appetizer

Make Your Own Sushi!

My most recent cooking class was teaching an awesome group of women how to make sushi!

Have you ever made sushi at home before? It can seem pretty daunting - there's so many ingredients and rolling up the sushi can really be a mess!

But with a few easy tips and tricks, the incredible ladies, shown below, were able to make a sushi roll! And I think they were actually surprised at how easy it is to make sushi at home. Really! It is easy! Plus, all the ingredients to make sushi are readily available at our local grocery store.

What I love about making sushi at home is that you can customize it to all your favorite fillings. So, if you love spicy tuna rolls but don't like when the restaurant adds cucumber to it, you can make your own spicy tuna rolls at home without cucumber. Or maybe you want your California roll to use real crab instead of imitation crab - go ahead and do it at home! Or you could come up with your own special filling combination and give the roll a special name. The Renata Roll, anyone???

The Perfect Appetizer for Sushi Night

What better way to start sushi night, than to have a Japanese inspired appetizer! This appetizer is a play on the traditional steamed edamame that you normally get at restaurants.

You may have seen edamame in Japanese restaurants before and wondered what is it? and why is it good for you?

Well, I'm here to help you answer those questions!

What is Edamame?

Edamame is a green soybean that is either served in the shell, or the individual beans can be removed from the shell. The nutritional content of edamame is pretty impressive. In 1/2 cup of edamame beans (where the shell has been removed), there is 9g of fiber and 11 g protein! That is more fiber than 4 slices of whole wheat bread and more protein than one egg. Edamame also contains plan-based omega 3 fatty acids, which are an essential fatty acid that we need to eat for healthy brain and cell function as well as development.

Edamame is usually served steamed, maybe with a little salt or soy sauce on the side. I decided to give this edamame appetizer some more bold flavor with a couple of special ingredients.

Toasted Edamame with Sesame Oil and Garlic

This Toasted Edamame with Sesame Oil and Garlic is full of vibrant, mouthwatering flavor! The sesame oil adds that unmistakable asian flavor and I love the extra savory, and slightly crispy, garlic. Top it off with sesame seeds and even some crushed up chili peppers... yum!

The great thing about edamame is that it is such a quick and easy appetizer. This whole recipe only takes 10 minutes to prepare and make. Then you munch on some edamame while you make your homemade sushi rolls!

Make sure you give this recipe a try! You can use frozen and thawed edamame, or even take a bag of frozen edamame and steam it in the microwave for 4-5 minutes before using them in this recipe.

My daughter absolutely loved this recipe too (without the chilies)! So this recipe is super kid friendly too, especially if they can use their hands to pry open the shells and find the little soy bean treasures inside!

If you try this recipe, take a photo and share it on social media! Tag me at @nourish_with_renata or use hashtag #nourishwithrenata. I can't wait to see what you make!

Toasted Edamame with Sesame Oil and Garlic

Fresh or frozen edamame gets an asian flavor boost with delicious savory ingredients!

• 1 lb fresh or frozen and thawed edamame (in the shell)
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove (minced)
• Kosher salt
• Sesame seeds
• Dried Chilies or chili flakes (optional)

1. Heat a large pan over medium high heat.
2. Once the pan is hot, add in the sesame oil.

3. Once the sesame oil is smoking hot, add in the edamame.

4. Quickly toss the ingredients together until the edamame is starting to get toasted. 

5. Add in the garlic and toss frequently until aromatic. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

6. Transfer the edamame to a serving dish and sprinkle over a pinch of kosher salt, sesame seeds and dried crushed chilies, or chili flakes, if desired.

7. Serve immediately.

*** Did you get your FREE copy of my Secretly Healthy Sweet Treats E-book? Download it right now! ***