Boiled Young Peanuts

中文菜谱： 盐水煮嫩花生

It is September already.  Fall and cool air have not arrived at Houston yet.  It is still very hot and humid outside, like we are still in the middle of a super long summer.

However, fresh produces sold on the market are beginning to show the signs of fall.  New crop of peanuts are in season now.  Oh gee, I can’t describe how much I love these young peanuts recently dug up from underground.

A lot of people love boiled peanuts.  But not so many have tried young peanuts.  They are a bit less crunchy than the regular ones, but they are packed with such a sweet, refreshing, nutty, and earthy flavor. 

Ingredients：

1 lb young peanuts
2 to 3 star anises
1 to 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
3 to 4 cloves
2 bay leaves
5 to 6 dried chili peppers
sea salt to taste
water for boiling

Directions：

Thoroughly rinse the peanuts under running water.  Add to a small stock pot, along with spices and seasonings and water.

Heat over high heat until the water boils.  Cover with lid.  Reduce the heat to simmer for 15 minutes.

I keep the boiling time so short to preserve the crunchy texture from young peanuts.  If you prefer softer and tender texture, extend the cooking time to 30 to 40 minutes or more if needed.  

Boiled peanuts and a cold beer, what a pleasant treat! O(∩_∩)O~

Pickled Young Ginger Roots

中文菜谱：

脆嫩爽口的泡仔姜

Pickled vegetables have been a long time tradition in my hometown in China.  Most vegetables thrive in summer but hard to find in other seasons, so that our ancestors developed such a way to preserve excessive vegetables for later use.  Actually similar vegetable pickling techniques have been used in many places all over the world, with minor differences in the process and ingredients. 

Most southern Chinese families keep one or more pickling jars in the kitchen.  These pickling jars are different from all we can see on grocery markets in the States.  There are deep V shape edges on the top of the jars where water would be added to keep the whole jar aid-tight. 

I have been looked over everywhere to such a pickling jar in America but came up with none.  So I brought back one from a trip back to China a couple years ago. 

Pickling ingredients and methods vary from area to area too.  I mostly do Sichuan style pickling which involves lots of peppers, Sichuan peppercorns and other Asian spices.   

Pickled young ginger roots are one of my favorites.  But the thing is, it is extremely hard to find fresh young ginger roots on the market.  I guess not that many people know how delicious they are. 

I was so happy when I finally found some in an H-mart grocery store.

Rinse the young ginger roots under running water.  Pat them dry with kitchen paper towel or air dry with cool air in a food dehydrator.

Add to the pickling jar, and sprinkle some with a handful course sea salt.  The pickled vegetables should be ready in about a week. 

The pickling juice from the jar is the key to success.  The best way to start pickling is to buy a small jar of authentic Sichuan style pickles from the nearest Asian grocery store.  Use it as the starter.

Add cold boiled water, rice wine, sea salt, Sichuan peppercorns, cayenne peppers, garlic cloves, star anises, cloves, sugar and some other spices of your choice to the jar.  Seal the edge with water.  Wait for 3 to 4 days.  You should now have a jar of pickling juice to begin with.

 Add vegetables to the jar and they would be done in about one week.  The more you pickle vegetables, the richer and more delicate flavor the pickling juice would be.  

This time, I make pickled young ginger and long beans.  Both of them are popular pickles in southern China too.

They taste very crunchy, a bit tangy, savory and very flavorful depending on the spices used in the pickling process.  

Young ginger roots are more tender, crunchy, and a lot less spicy than the regular ginger roots.  Yum! O(∩_∩)O~

Crunchy Soybeans

中文菜谱：

酥黄豆

Crunchy soybeans are far more than a snack to us.  They can also be used as a crunchy topping for Asian style noodle soups too, or as a topping to almost anything you like.  And be careful, these beans can be additive too O(∩_∩)O~

It is super simple and easy to make crunchy soybeans at home.  All you need is a little bit of time and patience, and of course, some soybeans!

Crunchy soybeans make perfect topping for Chinese noodles.

Ingredients：

1 cup of soybeans
water for soaking
1 1/2 to 2 cups oil
salt to taste

Directions：

Add soybeans to a bowl, along with water.  Let it sit overnight.

Soaked soybeans

Drain the soybeans.  Add to a thick sauce pan.  Add oil.  I use a 2 quarts cast iron wok which is perfect for frying small batch of meat and vegetables.

Cook over medium low heat. 

With a spoon, stir the beans from time to time to prevent uneven cooking.

A few minutes later, soybeans start to change colors.

They slowly darken the color. 

Reduce the heat to low.  DO NOT use high heat here.  Otherwise, you might end up with burnt or chewy soybeans instead of crunchy ones.

The beans have been deep-fried over low heat for almost 30 minutes.

Now the color is beautifully golden brown.

Drain the beans and let them cool down in a plate lined with kitchen paper towel.

Sprinkle with fine table salt.  Store in an air-tight mason jar up to 2 weeks after the beans are completely cooled. 

I posted how to make noodles at home before: Homemade Noodles in Thick Pork Broth  

Cook the noodles in boiling water for 45 seconds to one minute.  Add to a bowl, along with soy sauce, sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorn oil, chili oil sauce, spicy ground beef with dice tofu, finely shredded cucumber, chopped cilantro, green onion, and of course, crunchy soybeans.

Use pair of chopsticks to toss everything together.

Bon appetite! O(∩_∩)O~

Grilled Asparagus Wrapped in Bacon

中文菜谱：

烤培根芦笋卷

If you love to shop at local farmers’ markets like I do, you would agree with me that asparagus is a messenger for spring.  It is earliest vegetable coming out of the ground.

 When I was living back in Michigan, winter was really cold and long.  We had to wait until May when it finally warmed up.  And asparagus is always the first seasonal vegetable appearing at farmers’ markets, followed by strawberries in June. 

Asparagus can be cooked in so many ways that I can never get tired of it.  One of my favorite ways is to grill with bacon.  Oh, yes, bacon makes everything so much better! O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

1 bunch asparagus
1 package of bacon (1 lb)
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

Directions：

Try to pick the asparagus that is short and thick with tender and juicy texture.

Remove the tough bottom by bending each asparagus near its bottom until it snaps. Discard the tough bottom parts.    

Wrap each asparagus with one slice of bacon.  Secure both ends with bamboo toothpicks. 

I also wrap the bacon slices around some enokitake mushrooms and garlic chives. 

Preheat grill to 400F/ 204C

Quickly brush the griddle with some oil.  Add bacon-wrapped vegetables.

Excessive dripping fat from bacons may cause the grill to flare up.  Keep a close eye on the grill.  Flip them frequently if necessary to prevent burning or over cooking. 

Sprinkle salt and black pepper on top while grilling.

Bacon turns amazingly golden brown.  The vegetables are ready.

You can also bake asparagus in the oven with bacon.  But I think grilling is a better way because it adds extra smoky flavors that cannot be produced in a regular oven.

Pickled Peanuts with Vinegar and Onion

中文菜谱：

简单好滋味的老醋花生

Pickled peanut is a dish, well, an appetizer to be exact, very popular during hot summer time across mainland China.  It is extremely simple and easy to make.  Just toss roasted peanuts and chopped onion, along with vinegar and some other seasonings.  And then wah-lah… you have a refreshing and crunchy peanut appetizer!

It sounds easy.  But it will take a few tries to achieve great flavors.  And the variations are limitless.  You can add celery, cilantro, chili peppers…  And every family has its own seasoning recipe too. All they have in common are peanuts, good vinegar and chopped onion.  

Ingredients：

1 cup raw peanuts
3 to 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (go with aged vinegar if you have one on hand )
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 to 2 tablespoons honey (or use more or less to taste)
3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce
chopped cilantro
1 medium sized onion, peeled and chopped
salt to taste

Directions：

I love peanuts with that red thin layer of skin on.  The ones without it will taste just fine too.

Preheat oven to 350F/177C

Spread peanuts on a baking sheet.  Bake in the oven for 8 minutes.  When time is up, turn off oven heat.  Leave the peanuts in the oven until they are cooled down. 

Peanuts will be very crunchy when they cool down.

I have been using this vinegar for years.  The aged version tastes better.  Whenever I see them on shelves, I would stock up O(∩_∩)O~

Add peanuts, along with chopped onion, cilantro and all the seasonings to a large bowl.

Mix well.

It can be served right after everything is mixed together.  But the flavor would be so much better if you let it sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

A few hours later, color has dulled a little bit, but all seasoning s and flavors combine better and the taste is smoother and more harmonious. 

Peanuts are still crunchy.  The contrast between crunchy peanut and juicy onion is well balanced and interesting.   I just can’t get enough of it O(∩_∩)O~