CRIZ BON APPETITE

Nowadays, when you visit some of the Chinese restaurants, you would be served with braised peanuts prior to your meal. The trend of serving roasted or deep fried peanuts has changed as many diners are more health conscious now and refrained from consuming too much oily tidbits. Moreover, the peanuts might be too hard for some elderly diners. To order more plates of these delicious peanuts would also cost you more, especially in posh restaurants. You could get some of those canned ones from China easily available at your grocery stores but I’m a bit skeptical on the quality. I think you get what I mean right? 😛 The best way to get as much as you want without hurting your pocket more, is to cook your own at home. These braised peanuts would be best as an appetizer before a meal, snacks, side dish for your porridge or can even be added into your meat and poultry dishes. Let me share with you this simple BRAISED PEANUTS APPETIZER recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
600g raw big sized peanuts with red skins (wash, soak for about 6 hours & rinse)
4 pieces dried orange peels (1/2 an orange) or peels from one whole fresh orange
3 star anise (whole)
10 slices licorice bark
3 pcs cinnamon bark (about 2” length)
4 cloves garlic (peeled and smashed)
50-60gms rock sugar
3 Tbsp oyster sauce (premium/vegetarian)
5 Tbsp soy sauce (premium)
2 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 tsp 5-spice powder
1/2 tsp pepper
6 cups water

PREPARATIONS:
Slow Cooker:
Add in 6 cups of boiling water and all the ingredients EXCEPT the peanuts on HIGH. Stir evenly. When water boils, add in the peanuts and simmer for 4 hours or until the peanuts are to your preferred softness. Drain and leave it to cool down before serving.
Pressure Cooker:
Bring the 6 cups of water to boil on HIGH fire. Add in all the ingredients while stirring evenly. When boil, close lid and wait until you hear the hissing sound from the pressure. Bring fire to down to MEDIUM-LOW and cook for about 20-30 minutes, based on your preferred softness. When the pressure is released about 5 minutes later, drain and leave it to cool down before serving.

Note:
1. Pour back all the ingredients into the pot and keep the broth for your next batch of peanuts.
2. The softness of the peanuts would sometimes depend on the different species of peanuts available at your local market. If the softness is not acquired, let it cook for another few minutes.
3. Some PREMIUM sauce can be quite SWEET. So adjust the sweetness to your liking.

(Serves: 4-6)

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