Roasted peanuts are an essential ingredient in numerous Thai dishes. Fortunately, they're incredibly easy to make, and are so tasty when freshly roasted. Read on to learn how to roast peanuts for use in Thai cooking.
Some of the most famous Thai dishes include roasted peanuts. Pad Thai, Green Papaya Salad, Panang Curry, and Miang Kham, for example, just wouldn't be the same without them. You can buy pre-roasted nuts at the store, but making them fresh imparts a much tastier toasted flavor to these and many other Thai dishes.
The Thai phrase for roasted peanuts is Tua Kua / ถั่วคั่ว. Tua means peanuts. Kua means to roast, and more specifically refers to "dry frying". Dry frying is when an ingredient is placed in a pan without oil or water and heated over low to medium heat, with regular stirring, until it is golden brown and fragrant.
Although peanuts can be roasted in other ways, in my experience, dry frying is the preferred method for use in Thai cooking. This is the method that my Thai in-laws use, and how they taught me to prepare roasted peanuts. These dry roasted peanuts are then either added whole or crushed to a wide variety of different dishes to impart their wonderfully rich, toasted, nutty flavor.
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The Best Peanuts To Use For Roasting
De-shelled, whole, raw peanuts are preferred for roasting. These are peanuts that have been removed from their hard outer shells, but still have that paper-thin red skin on them. You can also start with peanuts in their shells and shell them yourself. Whole raw peanuts are available at most mainstream grocery markets, as well as at Asian grocery stores.
How to Roast Peanuts for Use in Thai Cooking
My preferred method to roast peanuts for use in Thai cooking is to dry fry them. It's very simple, but does require about 30 minutes of your time and attention.
STEP 1: Add raw peanuts to a pan so that they form a single layer. Turn the heat to medium-low and allow to roast.
STEP 2: Stir or shake the pan every few minutes to ensure the nuts get toasted on all sides and don't burn.
STEP 3: Once the peanuts are golden brown (it usually takes ~30 minutes), remove from the heat and allow to cool.
STEP 4: Remove the thin dried skin by rubbing the peanuts between your fingers, or shaking in a closed container.
Storage
Once your peanuts have been roasted, you can use them immediately or save them for later. To save for later, store in a sealed container such as a mason jar to preserve their freshness for as long as possible. Sealed on the countertop or in the pantry, they should last for roughly 1-2 months.
Thai Dishes That Contain Roasted Peanuts
Numerous Thai dishes contain roasted peanuts. These roasted peanuts can be added either whole or crushed. A mortar and pestle is traditionally used to crush roasted peanuts. However, you can achieve a similar effect by chopping them with a knife.
Some dishes, such as Green Papaya Salad and various Noodle Soups, call for crushed roasted peanuts to be sprinkled on top of the prepared dish as a garnish. Others, including Massaman Curry and Gang Hang Lay, call for the roasted peanuts to be added to the dish as it cooks. Chopped roasted peanuts are served on the side of other dishes, like Pad Thai. And they're included in the dipping sauce for other dishes, like Satay and Fried Tofu.
Here are some of the Thai dishes that include roasted peanuts. This is not an exhaustive compilation by any means. If you have a peanut allergy, be sure to ask before eating any Thai dish, as roasted peanuts are commonly used in Thai kitchens.
FAQ
Dry roasted peanuts are used in many dishes, such as Fried Tofu, Chicken Satay, and Green Papaya Salad.
Unsalted dry roasted peanuts are most commonly used. However, they are not available, salted peanuts can be substituted without dramatically altering the taste of many of these dishes.
A mortar and pestle is traditionally used for crushing peanuts in Thailand. If you do not have one available, you can use a knife to coarsely chop the peanuts.
Recipe
Roasted Peanuts | Tua Kua | ถั่วคั่ว
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw peanuts shelled, skin-on
Instructions
- Place a wok or pan on the stove and turn heat on to medium low. Add the raw peanuts to the pan, ensuring that they're in a single layer.
- Allow the peanuts to cook, stirring or shaking the pan every few minutes to ensure that the peanuts get evenly roasted and don't burn. After the peanuts are golden brown on all sides, remove from the heat. This usually takes roughly 30 minutes. Allow the peanuts to cool.
- Once they are cool, you can rub the peanuts between your hands or shake them in a closed container to remove the dried red skin. Store the peanuts in a sealed container on the countertop or in the pantry. They should stay fresh for roughly 1-2 months.
S Fuller
Good to read. Thanks. Especially for the Theravada Buddhist Thai New Year April 13
S Fuller