Spicy Peanuts

Spicy Peanuts Recipe:

Spicy peanuts are a great snack on their own, but they also top one of my favorite Seoul-inspired dishes, a crunchy and refreshing, Spicy Cucumber Salad.

Peanuts are an ingredient I can always find in bulk in just about any bulk food aisle. For one pound (16 oz) of bulk dry roasted, unsalted, organic peanuts I paid $4.99 or ($0.31 / Ounce). for 10 ounces of the packaged unsalted, roasted organic peanuts, I would have to pay  ($0.47 / Ounce), which is a 52% increase! So buying bulk again saves money and doesn’t create waste if I use my own container!

For this recipe, you’ll only need 1/2 cup of peanuts, which are this point are very bland, so we will need to spice them up. Pour the peanuts into a bowl and coat them with 1/2 tablespoon of oil, I had peanut oil so I used that, but really any cooking oil will work. Once coated evenly, sprinkle on a good pinch of salt and the spices of your choice. Since this recipe was inspired by a Korean establishment, I decided to try Gochugaru spice which I couldn’t find in bulk, so I bought it in a pretty decent sized glass container I can reuse. If you can’t find this spice, just go with whatever you have. I would probably avoid any smokey spices though as it might overpower the other flavors in the salad.

Since this Gochugaru wasn’t initial very spicy, though it does have sort of a delayed kick to it, I added 3/4 teaspoon of cayenne, but this is totally optional depending on how spicy you like it. I like it fairly spicy. Mix the peanuts until coated evenly with the salt and spices and set aside.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup peanuts (bulk, unsalted, roasted)
• 1/2 tablespoon oil 1-2 tablespoons Gochugaru seasoning (or other non-smokey spice)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon Cayenne (optional)

Directions:

1. Coat peanuts in oil.
2. Toss in salt and spices, mix until evenly coated.