This Chinese Boiled Peanuts recipe makes for an addictive snack Raw peanuts are boiled in water with cinnamon sticks, star anise, garlic cloves and a little salt. Even though there’s no sugar in the mix, you’ll get a molasses-like sweetness just from boiling the peanuts (even if you add NO spices!)
Why This Boiled Peanut Recipe Is So Good
- Create a variety of delicious flavors.
- Popular Chinese street food.
- Perfect for winter.
- Make a big batch, great for parties.
Ingredients
- Raw peanuts
- Garlic cloves
- Star anise
- Cinnamon sticks
- Kosher or seas salt
How To Cook This Chinese Boiled Peanuts Recipe
Step 1: Wash the raw peanuts
Give them a good rinse. Pick out any peanuts that just don’t look right, twigs, roots, etc.
Step 2: Add in seasonings & water
Step 3: Weigh down the peanuts
Raw peanuts float to the top of the water, so to make sure that they cook evenly, I like to add a plate into the pot to submerge the peanuts.
Step 4: Cook
I am using a pressure cooker (60 minutes under high pressure), but you can use a slow cooker (high for 6-8 hours) or boil on stove (bring to boil, cover and simmer on low for 3-4 hours)
Chinese Street Food
Alongside fire-roasted chestnuts, Boiled Chinese Peanuts are sold as cheap street food in China. It’s a cold-weather thing, and I know I’m posting this recipe in the dead heat of the summer, but I am missing real Chinese food….a little nostalgic for humble eats!
Peanuts With Flavor
Star Anise and cinnamon will add complex flavors, liquorice-like (though please don’t let that scare you – it is NOTHING like black liquorice), rich and sweet-smelling. If you’re a chile-nut, go ahead and add a couple of dried red chiles into the pot.
A great flavor combo is 3 sticks of cinnamon, 3 star anise, 3 cloves of garlic, 3 tablespoons of kosher salt. If you’ve got really good quality cinnamon sticks, just use one or two. I had to use 3 sticks, well….because I’m cheap and bought a lower quality of cassia bark.
What Are Raw Peanuts?
Raw peanuts commonly come in two forms:
- Raw fresh peanuts, AKA green peanuts, which come fresh out of the ground and are still very moist in the shell.
- Raw peanuts that have been shelled and air-dried. They must be soaked overnight before boiling to reduce the cooking time.
Starting with raw / green peanuts is easiest for making boiled peanuts since they are easier to cook. So where can you find them?
Raw fresh peanuts can be found in the produce section of Chinese and Western markets alike when they are in season (late summer through fall in the U.S.).
Top Tips For This Chinese Boiled Peanut Recipe
- Make sure you use enough water to cover all the peanuts.
- Adjust the spices to you liking.
- You can make this on the stovetop, pressure cooker or slow cooker.
- As you eat your Chinese boiled peanuts, remember to keep any leftover peanuts in the brining liquid or they will turn dry.
Check Out These Other Delicious Peanut Recipes
- How to Make Crunchy Roasted Peanuts in the Microwave
- Chicken Satay with Peanut Noodles
- Peanut Pesto and Peas Pasta Salad
- Beef Satay Skewers with Habanero Peanut Sauce
Have you tried this Chinese Boiled Peanuts Recipe? Feel free to leave a star rating and I”d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Chinese Boiled Peanuts Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw peanuts also called green peanuts
- 3 cloves garlic peeled
- 3 star anise
- 1-3 cinnamon sticks
- 3 tablespoons of kosher or sea salt
Instructions
- Wash the peanuts. In a large pot, add in all of the ingredients. Fill pot with water, enough to cover the peanuts by 3" when submerged. Optional - use a plate to submerge the peanuts in the water.
FOR PRESSURE COOKER:
- Cook under pressure 60 minutes high (it will take time to get up to pressure as well as cool-off period to release steam). Follow manufacturer's instructions.
FOR SLOW COOKER:
- Cook high for 6-8 hours
FOR STOVETOP:
- Bring to boil, cover and set heat to low. Simmer for 3-4 hours or until desired tenderness.
- Alternatively, you can soak the peanuts overnight in cool water. The next day, simmer on stovetop for 1 hour or until desired tenderness.
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
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Using a pressure cooker, do you use quick pressure release or natural release?
Quick!
Thanks for the recipe! These are my favorite –
Must you use a plate when boiling? I soaked mines over night with a plate.
I never use a plate when boiling. Just stir a couple of times during the boiling process.
Please talk about the difference between cooking raw green peanuts and raw dried peanuts. Green peanuts are available only during harvest season in the fall — we’re past that now.
I have never seen raw peanuts in the shell. Will raw peanuts without shell work?
Hi there – no, it won’t work for this recipe. Head to your large supermarket – ask if they have raw peanuts!
So happy to come across this recipe! Reminds me of my childhood.
I soaked my peanuts, and after an hour they were done, but I felt like it lacked the flavor I was longing for. It made me wonder if cooking for 3 hours unsoaked would taste different? I will try next time.
In the end, all is well. The next day, my chilled peanuts were perfect. The anise flavor was more prominent. Perfect! Thanks for posting.
Being from the south, I love boiled peanuts, but have never tried them cooked this way. Need to try!
I love peanuts.. and this could be so interesting to try.
This is where our cultures overlap. Boiled peanuts are the ultimate Southern snacking food. We boiled two bushels for the freezer this year.
This is definitely much more delicious with a couple of dried red chiles.
We saw these all over the place in Chinatown when we were in Hawaii! I wish I had gotten some but now I’ll just have to make by own! yum!
Stupid question – but, do you eat them shell and all, or peel them? And do you eat them warm or cold?
Peel them! You can eat them warm or at room temp.
Eat em warm and no shell
I love these peanuts. I never realized they used star anise.
Chinese peanuts makes me miss home in Hawaii 🙁 Closest that I get to a peanut is the stuff at the Nationals game. Looks yummy!
Oh, you just had to go and class it up 🙂
I *adore* boiled peanuts! Elise has a good simple Southern version, too:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/boiled_peanuts/
Can’t wait to try this one, what a great combination of spices, and garlic! Looks mouthwatering~thank you!
I love boiled peanuts but I never add anything into it other than salt. Your version is so much more tasty. Thanks for sharing.
Oh wow! Haven’t had boiled peanuts in a while…I actually love them more this way than the crunchier roasted version 🙂
They look so yummy, Jaden! I usually just boil them plain and add a bit of salt at the end for seasoning but now have to try your recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Jaden,
I made this over the weekend and they are delicious! I got greedy and made a lot but will bring them to work to share =) Thanks for the recipe!
Where can I buy raw peanuts? In an Asian market?
Most supermarkets (esp in the South) carry raw or green peanuts! Usually in produce section.
Any grocery store they sell salted peanuts..or try Walmart or same club.
Daah… Not RAW Fresh PNuts a must!!! May get from a grower at Farmers Mkts. But may cost $1-3$ # buy the big ones n sample 1st to see if raw n fresh notbold n dry, i put some soy sayce n or Shiracha vs salt….yum ONO Good!!!
I am not sure what kind of plate can safely be used inside the pressure cooker. What is yours made of?
Thanks. I want to try this recipe.
Nancy
Corningware!