Soybeans

We haven’t encountered soybeans much in the Subcontinent except in Nepal and the mountainous area to the east of Nepal. There soybeans (the fruit of the plant Glycine maximus; also known as edamame) are used fresh and are also fermented, then stir-fried. Flash-frozen fresh soybeans are sold in many Japanese and other Asian stores, and now in gourmet stores/supermarkets, either in the pod or, more commonly, shelled and ready to be cooked and eaten. They’re bright green ovals and cook quickly in boiling salted water or in a stir-fry. In Nepal and the surrounding area, soybeans are fermented to make kinema, a highly digestible, nutritionally valuable, and delicious pantry staple.