Chilled Edamame Pureed Soup (枝豆のすり流し, Edamame no Surinagashi)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Suribachi and surikogi, or a blender used in short pulses
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Fine cloth for straining dashi
• •Small chilled lacquer or celadon bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in 4 cups cold water and bring it up slowly over low heat, about 10 minutes. Pull the konbu when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides, before it boils, because boiling kelp draws out bitterness and a slick texture you don't want in a clear summer soup.

   You're steeping the konbu, not cooking it hard. The point is clean flavor that lets the edamame stay in front.
2. 2

   Steep the flakes

   Bring the konbu water to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, then take the pot off the heat. Let the flakes sink on their own for 2 to 3 minutes. Strain through a cloth or very fine sieve and let it drip naturally. Don't squeeze, or the strong oily taste in the flakes will cloud the stock you just kept so carefully.

3. 3

   Chill the stock

   Measure out 2 cups of the ichiban dashi for the soup and chill it until cold. The remaining dashi can be saved for another dish. A cold soup wants cold stock, because warm dashi dulls the bean color and makes the finished texture feel heavier than it should.

4. 4

   Blanch the edamame

   Bring a pot of water to a lively boil and salt it with 1 tablespoon sea salt. Add the edamame and cook until the beans are tender and sweet, 4 to 5 minutes for pods, 2 to 3 minutes for shelled beans. Taste one. It should be fully cooked, not chalky, because pounding only makes a smooth bean smoother. It won't rescue an undercooked one.

5. 5

   Cool and shell

   Drain the edamame and spread the pods on a tray to cool quickly, or rinse shelled beans briefly under cold water and drain well. Shell the beans, then slip off the thin inner skins if you want the finest texture. This is the patient part, not the difficult part. The skins are harmless, but removing them gives the soup its quiet, almost silken finish.

6. 6

   Pound the beans

   Reserve 4 bright beans for garnish. Pound the rest in a suribachi, a ridged Japanese mortar, until they become a thick, even paste. A blender works as a stand-in, but use short pulses and scrape often. Pounding breaks the beans gradually and keeps the texture soft; hard blending can make them pasty if you let the machine run too long.

   If using a blender, add a spoonful or two of cold dashi only when needed to move the blades. Keep it thick first, then thin it deliberately.
7. 7

   Loosen and season

   Whisk in the chilled dashi a little at a time until the soup pours like light cream. You may need 1 1/2 to 2 cups, depending on the beans. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, the usukuchi, and the sake if using. Taste cold, not warm, because cold food needs slightly clearer seasoning. It should taste sweet first, then gently savory, with nothing heavy covering the edamame.

8. 8

   Strain and chill

   For a very refined soup, pass it through a fine sieve, pressing gently with a ladle. Chill for at least 30 minutes, then stir before serving. Straining is not vanity. It removes tiny skins and coarse bits so the soup lands cleanly on the tongue, which is exactly what surinagashi is meant to do.

9. 9

   Serve cold

   Pour into four small chilled bowls, filling each only halfway to two-thirds. Set one reserved edamame bean and a thread of yuzu peel or a few chive tips on the surface. Serve at once while the color is fresh and the bowl is cold.

Chef Tips

• •Buy edamame in season, with pods that look full, green, and lively. If the pods are yellowing or dry at the seams, choose another summer vegetable. Shun does more work than the cook here.
• •Don't use powdered dashi for this soup. There are dishes where a sensible stand-in can carry you through, but here the dashi is half the dish and instant granules taste too blunt.
• •A suribachi gives the best texture because it crushes instead of whipping. A blender is allowed at the home bench, just keep it brief and stop before the soup turns gluey.
• •For a meatless table, make the stock with konbu and dried shiitake. Use one 10g piece of konbu and 2 dried shiitake in 4 cups cold water, soak overnight, then warm gently and strain. That's honmono in the temple kitchen sense, not a compromise.

Advance Preparation

• •The ichiban dashi can be made 1 day ahead and kept refrigerated. Keep it covered so it doesn't pick up refrigerator smells.
• •The edamame paste can be made 4 hours ahead and chilled tightly covered. Thin and season it close to serving, when you can judge the texture properly.
• •The finished soup is best the day it is made. After a night in the refrigerator, the color fades and the flavor becomes quieter than it should.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 210g)