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Five Spice Braised Peanuts
Super easy recipe to make old fashioned Chinese five spice braised peanuts even a newbie cook can replicate at home.
I have a very old fashioned Chinese recipe for you today, five spice braised peanuts. This is such an old fashioned snack that I remember only my older aunties used to make this and share with their younger sisters, my Mom being one of them. :)
I almost forgot all about this snack until my friend shared hers. I simply must try her recipe and replicate, since it is so good and extremely easy. So a big thanks Pearlyn. :)
Peanuts with Skin On
For this recipe, you want to hunt down dried raw peanuts with skin on. I usually buy this kind of peanuts in my Asian grocery since I like sticking to using Chinese ingredients for Chinese recipe. Interestingly the ones I usually buy comes in a 12 oz (340 gram) packet, hence the same amount in my recipe. :D If you have no access to Asian grocery, feel free to use the one stocked in your regular grocery stores.
Regular pot vs. Pressure Cooker
Since I want to make sure even newbies can replicate this recipe, I make sure to cook this in a saucepot. It takes 2 hours, but it is super easy and not much work needs to be done. You simply have to check occasionally to make sure there is still enough water in the pot, and add some hot water if needed. If you are a more advanced cook and have a pressure cooker, you can cut down the cooking time to only 45 minutes. Either way, this five spice braised peanuts should turn out delicious.
Five Spice Braised Peanuts
Ingredients
- 340 gram (12 oz) dried raw peanuts with skin on
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic with skin on
- 2 star anise
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 50 gram palm sugar (or rock sugar), or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ~ 2 cup water, or enough to cover peanuts
Instructions
- (Optional step): Boil peanuts with a tablespoon of vinegar in a pot of water for 10 minutes, and drain. This optional step will remove any bitterness that may present in your batch of peanuts.
- Place peanuts, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, Chinese five-spice powder, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, palm sugar, salt, and water in a saucepot, making sure there is enough water to cover the peanuts completely. Cover the pot and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours, or until peanuts are soft. Make sure to check occasionally and top off with more hot water if the sauce dries up before the 2 hours mark. The peanuts should be tender (but not falling apart) and very flavorful at this point.
- If you have a pressure cooker, you can braise the peanuts in 45 minutes.
Comments
Made this for my family and it was a hit!
Love how easy and delicious this recipe is. It's perfect for a gathering or a party.
Or for two people (me and hubby) in a span of one two-hour movie. :D These peanuts can be addictive and dangerous.
I love snacking on nuts and the flavour of these sounds amazing.
These are great for snacking! Love how easy they are to make!
What a fantastic treat. I've never had anything like these before but I am ready to try them.
Oh these sound delicious! Definitely trying for my next gathering!
You will love them, Ashley. And if there will be many guests coming for the gathering, be sure to make a double or triple batch. :)
Dear Anita, could I omit salt, sugar, oyster sauce and thick sauce for the braised peanuts? I am on No Salt and No Sugar Diet. Will the texture of the peanuts be soft? Please advice. Thanks.
Dear Siva, I am sure the peanuts will be soft even if you omit all those seasonings. But I can't guarantee the taste will be as delicious if you omit all of those. :)
I used to have braised peanut in Singapore. I want to learn how to cook braised peanut. I found this recipe. Thank you for sharing recipe.
You are welcome, Su Kun. Now you can make these peanuts even when you are not in Singapore. :)
do you dry them on a cookie sheet to keep them from clumping up? Or is that not a problem? Can I make these the day before? thank you
Hi Jeremiah, it shouldn't be a problem since the peanuts shouldn't end up completely dry like when they were fried/roasted. They should look dry, but in truth, we want like a very minimum amount of sauce left that is barely visible yet should keep the peanuts quite moist and not sticking to one another.
And yes, you can totally make these a day or two before. Just keep them in an airtight container in the fridge. I love snacking on these straight out from the fridge, or warmed up slightly in a microwave. :)
I tried making it according to the recipe but there is a bitter aftertaste, any idea how that can happen, please?
To remove any bitterness from peanuts, you can boil peanuts with a tablespoon of vinegar in a pot of water for 10 minutes, and drain. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Hi Anita, can I make this with the raw peanuts without skin?
Hi Pei, yes. You can use shelled skinless raw peanuts too. :)
Hi. What's a good substitute for palm sugar and equivalent measurement? What I have available are brown sugar, coconut sugar, muscovado, maple syrup and white sugar. Can't wait to try this! Thanks!
Hi Lory, I will go with coconut sugar. :)
These are the perfect peanuts to snack on. Love the five spice used here. Tastes so good!
These braised peanuts are going to become your new favorite snacking option! I love the spices in them.
I love the flavors the five spice gives to these peanuts! They're an excellent snack and we couldn't stop eating them!
Oh a Dr. I used to work with would bring these in and I loved them, they tasted just like them!
Wow these look so interesting! I've never had braised peanuts before, but you've got me intrigued with that spice mix. Can't wait to try this out!
Made this several times already and always well-liked! My favourite braised peanut recipe
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