Vegetarian Recipes: Star Anise Flavored Boiled Peanuts
Raw Peanuts, Hawaiian Sea Salt (or good Rock Salt), and Star Anise "Flower"
DoT’s Thot: I had almost forgotten about this childhood snack, Star Anise Flavored Boiled Peanuts. Then my sister-in-law handed me a small bag of these when I was visiting. As we sat and cracked open the shells to snack on the boiled peanuts, I was inspired to look up some recipes and cook these up myself. I remember we sometimes refered to these as Chinese boiled peanuts.
Star Anise Scented Boiled Peanuts In the Shells
Here is a recipe which I settled on after a little fooling around. Feel free to adjust the saltiness and the star anise flavoring. I tend to use more star anise than some people, because I like the scent and flavor. This is a snack that vegetarians and vegans can enjoy for variety.
Closeup of Star Anise "Flower" with Eight "Petals" Resting on Hawaiian Rock Salt
Ingredients for Star Anise Flavored Boiled Peanuts
- 2 pounds raw peanuts, rinsed, cleaned, and then soaked overnight (cover all the peanuts with water)
- 1/4 cup Hawaiian salt (or good rock salt)
- 2 complete pieces of star anise (5-6 petals each)
- water to cover the peanuts by about 2 inches
Directions for Cooking Star Anise Flavored Boiled Peanuts
When you rinse the peanuts, typically you will see a yellowish tan color water. Rinse several times, removing any bad peanuts. To keep the peanuts underwater, put the peanuts in a deep bowl with water to cover; put a plate that fits into the bowl over the peanuts and weight it down with canned goods or an empty bottle filled with water and capped to weigh down the plate and peanuts. Soak overnight to facilitate cooking the next day.
Star Anise Boiled Peanuts: Clockwise from the Top -- Boiled Peanuts in the Shell, Peanuts with Skins, Peanuts without Skins, Peanuts in the Half-Shell, Three Petals from the Cooked Star Anise "Flower"
The next day, you can cook the peanuts in a pressure cooker or in an old fashioned pot with cover. Put all the ingredients in the pot all together.
In a preassure cooker, bring pressure up, lower heat and cook for 1/2 hour to 35 minutes. Take pot off heat. Allow pressure to drop. When safe to do so, remove cover, drain peanuts in large colander.
If peanuts are boiled in a regular pot on the range, bring the water comes to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer for an hour and fifteen minutes with the lid on the pot. Drain, cool.
Note: The peanuts will be moist. If you care to, you may want to dry the peanutes in the sun for a full day. Turn the peanuts periodically. These taste good either way.
Aloha, DoT
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