During the Holidays we went out to eat at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants since we only get to come here every 5 years or so it seems lately. They served us some HOMEMADE roasted Chinese peanuts but with a 5 star anise flavor! They were out of this world! SO this was the 2nd time that flavor was haunting me.
We don't have the luxury of having that much Chinese cuisine that match the flavors we so enjoy. However one of our local places did serve a dish with these huge white colored peanuts.
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So crisp and reminiscent of what I remembered as a child eating these delightful snacks that my Dad loved! I remember asking my Mom where I can buy these and I wondered why the Chinese peanuts are so much tastier than the Valencia varieties we are so accustomed to. She said you can get them when we go up north at the Asian market we stop by on each trip.
So finally we were in that store. I remembered to look for the peanuts but all I saw were these white ones...didn't know what to do with them...whether they were raw or I had to toast them myself. So I asked and she said you have to toast them. At the checkstand though I saw a lady in front of me with a bag of chinese peanuts that looked ready to eat! She showed me where they were. I hurried up and grabbed a bag. Had I knew how addicted we'd be to them and saw they were on sale, I would have bought 10 or more of them!
I even brought it to the attention of Trader Joe's to see if they'd carry them here at my local store because those were not anything like what they carried! I think you will find they are far superior! To my delight they were even made in USA not from China! Vacuumed packed even and said you should store in the frig to maintain freshness!
I finally got a hold of the company and told them what I did suggesting their product to TJs (in the back of my head I was scheming maybe they'll let me have a discount on my online order to match the sale...but I saw in their FAQs that they don't give discounts to regular folks only to retail stores...still wishful thinking). Theytold me they wouldn't be able to keep up with the demand of a large chain store like that and were quite content to stay the way they were.
I'm even reluctant to mention the brand here but if you wanted to contact me I suppose I can let you know. In the meantime my small Asian market here does have the raw ones so I guess I will try and attempt to stir fry them up myself and see what happens. I never thought that both my husband and I would be so addicted to them!
Here's a link how to stir-fry:
https://www.chowhound.com/post/chinese-roasted-peanuts-844566
I did find out it is definitely a different variety caller Runner vs Valencia! So mystery solved! If you like peanuts and never tasted Chinese peanuts maybe you should try some!
Found the recipe that I think is the same as what we ate in the restaurant! With the 5 star anise flavor!
https://www.chowhound.com/post/chinese-roasted-peanuts-844566
Here's a recipe for Hom Suey fah song which I've made (and gifted) successfully:
For each pound of raw CHINESE peanuts, boil for 2 mins in
2 C water
6 Tb sugar
5 tsp salt
1 star anise
Cool and soak o'night. Drain in colander 6-8 hrs. Bake on cookie sheet 60 mins @ 250 and then 2-4 hrs @ 200. After 2-1/2 hrs, take a few peanuts out and let cool, if they are crisp, they are ready to be taken out of oven.
Warning: they're kinda addictive!