By Request Betty Shimabukuro

Garlic lifts edamame a la Side Street

Kris Watanabe, formerly of Mililani, now of Castro, Calif., was specific: "The last time I was home I had some garlic edamame at Side Street Inn and I couldn't get enough. I'm sure the recipe is simple enough, but I just can't get it right."

Most things at Side Street are simple (last week's featured recipe in this space was for Side Street's ultra-easy Cornflake Chicken), but owner Colin Nishida said the edamame is more difficult.

First, you make a compound butter, which means smooshing seasonings into a block of softened butter. They make the butter in huge amounts at Side Street and scoop it out as needed, so Nishida approximated the proportions in the recipe that follows.

This means you shouldn't expect your results be an exact match, but I tried it -- and it is seriously good. Take some to a holiday potluck and everyone will ask how you did it.

Variations would be easy: If you want something spicier, for example, use more hot sauce and throw in some chili flakes.

This recipe calls for 2 pounds of soy beans, but if you choose to make only 1 pound, I'd suggest you still make the full amount of compound butter. The leftover can be used to sauté vegetables, flavor grilled seafood or make garlic bread.

This recipe includes no nutritional analysis, as it seemed impossible to estimate how much of the buttery coating the average person would consume when sucking the beans out of the pods. On the other hand, when I served these, it seemed that everyone was licking up every bit.

Side Street Inn Garlic Edamame

» Compound butter:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced shallots
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch parsley

Boil soy beans in well-salted water, about 10 minutes. Drain.

To make compound butter: Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Melt compound butter in wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and garlic. Sauté until garlic begins to brown. Turn off heat and add soy beans. Toss to coat. Finish with a squeeze of lemon.