Cooking Tips: Boiled peanuts taste better than store-bought ones with just a few simple steps
Cooking tip: With just a few more steps, the boiled peanuts will be soft, rich in flavor, plump and retain their beautiful color like in the store.
Boiled peanuts are a rustic dish but many people are fascinated by their sweet, soft and easy to eat taste. Not only is it an ideal snack, peanuts are also rich in protein, healthy fats, vitamin E, magnesium, folate and many nutrients that are good for the heart, brain, and help prevent diabetes, gallstones and cancer. However, many people who boil peanuts at home often encounter the problem of dry, hard, less sweet and easily blackened peanuts. The main reason is due to incorrect boiling methods.
Making
1. Wash peanuts with flour
Newly purchased peanuts are often covered in mud. To clean them, put them in a basin of water, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour, stir well and let them soak for 20 minutes. The flour helps pull the mud and sand to the bottom of the basin. Then change the water twice, scrub gently like washing clothes to make the peanut shells clean and shiny.
2. Press the skin lightly to let the spices soak in evenly.
Use your thumb and index finger to gently press the ends of the peanuts until the shells crack slightly. The cracks will help the spices penetrate deeper into the peanuts instead of just sticking to the outside.
3. Add spices when boiling
Put peanuts in a pot, cover with water. Season with about 20g salt/kg peanuts, add 1 teaspoon sugar to enhance the salty taste. You can add star anise, bay leaves, chili or pepper to create aroma.
4. Boil and soak peanuts to soften and sweeten
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 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 soft, rich, aromatic seeds, bright shells and are not blackened. This is a healthy snack, however, because peanuts have a high fat and calorie content, you should eat them in moderation, especially if you are on a weight loss diet.
