Ingredients
- See below
Preparation
Step 1
First, I make this spice blend that I keep in dry storage at all times. Basically, I toast 2 oz each of green cardamom, coriander, Szechuan peppercorn, and white pepper and blend them all up in spice grinder. Then I’ll add 2 oz each of garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and Chinese five spice. (You can riff off this with fenugreek, different kinds of peppercorns, or whatever strikes you.)
So let’s say we’re gonna make a pint of raw, redskin peanuts. At the restaurant, I'll deep fry them for five minutes in four quarts of oil, but you can also just toss them in some oil and throw them in the oven at 375° for 25-30 minutes. Next, I’ll throw them in a big metal bowl and I’ll hit it with some salt, MSG, and that spice mixture. You’ll notice the bowl is hot as shit, so they actually kind of continue to fry in there. Then I let them cool down on sheet trays with that spice mixture. When your guests arrive, get a frying pan super hot, add the peanuts dry, and let them start to warm up.
In the pan, I throw in one bunch of chopped scallions and maybe half a bunch of chopped cilantro (I think the roots are the best part) and the herbs will start to leach out some of their water. I have a little squeeze bottle of one part shiro dashi, two parts sesame oil. I basically deglaze with that so that it coats the nuts. (If shiro dashi is too hard to come by, you can also sprinkle on hon dashi like salt.) You wanna be careful that you’re not seasoning them too heavily with the salt and spice mixture, but it’s still way more than you think.