Wok Fried Peanuts

These wok fried peanuts are an ideal snack to keep around. You’ll see them most often in Cantonese restaurants, served in small dishes around a lazy susan along with pots of tea. They’re the perfect little appetizer while you wait for your meal to arrive. 

They’re also great to have around for many other dishes, like our Dan Dan Noodles and Lao Gan Ma Noodles. You can also add them to salads and cold dishes, like Koushui Chicken.

In China, snacking on these little fried peanuts along with a cold beer is an after work past-time. For the price of 3 US dollars, a couple of buddies can enjoy a plate of these peanuts and wash them down with a couple of Yanjing or Qingdao beers. Ahhh….very nice!

Note: This post was originally published on August 20, 2013. We have since updated it with improved, clearer instructions, new photos, and nutrition information. Enjoy! 

Growing Up In China: Peanut Memories

When I was growing up in China, these peanuts would show up around Chinese New Year. Some form of peanut was common in many families’ Chinese New Year feasts.

I guess “feast” is a relative term. Basically, the New Year meal was always better than our everyday meals, so to a kid like myself at the time, what was really a modest meal definitely looked like a feast. These roasted peanuts were always there, and they never disappointed me.

When I was little and living with my grandmother in Shanghai, there was an old man who lived next door to us. During the summer months, he would eat his dinners outside on a bench, at a small wooden table set for one person.

There were usually at least four small plates of yummy dishes (小菜) prepared by his wife, and these roasted peanuts were on the table everyday. This is how I knew that they had some money, because peanuts were expensive then, and we couldn’t really afford them.

He would be out there every day at the same time. Drinking his beer, enjoying his wife’s cooking, talking to neighbors, and slowly eating those peanuts one by one. I would steal looks at them, trying hard not to reach out and grab one! 

Important Considerations When Frying Peanuts

There are some important things to remember before diving into this recipe: 

• Peanuts come in different sizes. The cooking time should vary accordingly. The peanuts pictured in this post are pretty small, and I cooked them for about 6 minutes. The frying time can range from 6-9 minutes, depending on the size of your peanuts. 
• I also prefer slightly undercooked peanuts. (It’s kind of weird, but I think it comes from my childhood days of picking raw peanuts in the fields after each year’s peanut harvest in the village where we lived.) If you prefer toastier peanuts, you can cook them longer. 
• This recipe is for a relatively small batch, but you can double or triple the recipe. Just know that the cooking time does not change much when you do a larger batch. 
• Roasted and fried nuts only become crunchy after they are completely cooled, so bear this in mind. Do not over-fry them because they are still a little soft when hot. 
• I’ve read that mixing a few drops of white vinegar into the hot peanuts can keep fried peanuts from getting stale. It works pretty well, but you will be able to taste a faint vinegar-y flavor. Alternatively, you can just keep the peanuts in an airtight container. We find they don’t usually last long enough to go stale anyway! 
• Nuts don’t do well in humid conditions, and can go rancid quicker, so bear that in mind when deciding how big a batch to make. 

All that said, these fried peanuts are very easy to make. Sarah can eat them continuously until they’re all gone. I have only a little bit more self-control than her—I can eat a lot in one sitting too.

They’re very addictive, so consider yourself warned!   

Wok Fried Peanuts: Recipe Instructions 

Place the peanuts in a strainer or colander, and rinse under water.

Spread them out in a single layer to air-dry for at least 30 minutes. 

In a clean wok, add in the air-dried peanuts and enough oil to just cover the peanuts. Then turn on the heat to medium low. Gently and slowly push the peanuts around to heat them evenly and prevent burning. 

You’ll first see small bubbles forming in the oil, and then some steam as the moisture in the peanuts cooks off. Then you’ll begin to hear small popping noises coming from the peanuts. They should be done once that popping sound stops and the pink skins on the peanuts turn a mahogany brown.

Because the peanuts can burn easily, it’s a good idea to turn off the heat for the last 1-2 minutes of cooking. This allows the peanuts to continue to cook in the hot oil without the risk of burning. 

Turn off the heat, strain the peanuts out, and spread them out on a baking sheet to cool completely. Sprinkle with salt, and serve. 

Store any leftovers in an airtight container. Be sure to strain the oil and save it. It will have a light peanut flavor and is great for cooking.