Cooking tip: Boiled peanuts taste better than those sold in stores with just a few simple steps.
Cooking tip: With just a few extra steps, your boiled peanuts will be soft, flavorful, plump, and retain their beautiful color, just like those sold in stores.
Boiled peanuts are a simple yet beloved snack, loved for their sweet, nutty, soft, and easy-to-eat flavor. Not only are they an ideal snack, but peanuts are also rich in protein, healthy fats, vitamin E, magnesium, folate, and many other nutrients beneficial for cardiovascular health, brain function, and helping to prevent diabetes, gallstones, and cancer. However, many people who boil peanuts at home often encounter problems with the nuts being dry, hard, less sweet, and turning black. This is largely due to incorrect boiling methods.
Making
1. Wash the peanuts thoroughly with flour.
Newly purchased peanuts often have mud on them. To clean them, put the peanuts in a bowl of water, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of flour, stir well, and soak for 20 minutes. The flour helps draw the mud and sand to the bottom of the bowl. Then change the water twice and gently scrub the peanuts like you would wash clothes to make the shells clean and shiny.
2. Gently press the peel to allow the spices to penetrate evenly.
Using your thumb and index finger, gently press the ends of the peanuts to slightly crack the shells. This crack will help the seasoning penetrate deeper into the kernel instead of just clinging to the shell.
3. Add seasonings while boiling.
Put the peanuts in a pot and cover them with water. Season with about 20g of salt per kilogram of peanuts, and add a teaspoon of sugar for a richer salty flavor. You can also add star anise, bay leaves, chili peppers, or black pepper for extra aroma.
4. Boil and soak the peanuts until they are soft and sweet.
Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes. Turn off the heat and soak the peanuts in the boiling water for at least 1 hour to allow the peanuts to absorb the flavor, soften, and retain their beautiful color.
Finished product:
Properly boiled peanuts have a soft, nutty, flavorful texture, a fragrant aroma of spices, and a bright, non-darkened shell. This is a healthy snack; however, because peanuts are quite high in fat and calories, you should eat them in moderation, especially if you are on a weight-loss diet.
