Going nutty over peanuts
CUISINE
Peanuts make a great snack food. Popular roasted while enjoying a drink (dry, seasoned or spiced), adding a wonderful crunch when sugared and added to a salad, and not to mention mum’s peanut brownies. They are popular in Chinese dishes, and an essential ingredient in Malaysian cuisine.
Interesting when you think the peanut was actually introduced to China by Portuguese traders early in the 17th century.
Today, China is the world’s largest peanut grower followed by India and the United States.
While we know them as peanuts, they have several other names such as Goober peas, monkey nuts, pig nuts, pigmy nuts, earth nuts and the most trendy name used now, ground nuts.
It doesn’t seem so long ago when the only oil we used for cooking was peanut oil, especially if it was for an Asian-style dish. That trend is rapidly returning but the oil is now under the guise of ground nuts rather than peanut. It is not too strong in flavour, has an excellent burning point and is much lower in saturated fats.
More interesting to note is that peanuts are, in fact, not a nut. They are a legume, a member of the bean family. Legumes are edible seeds enclosed in a pod. As a group they provide the best source of concentrated protein in the plant kingdom. While the peanut’s physical structure and nutritional benefits more closely resemble other legumes, their use in diets and cuisines more closely resembles that of a nut.
Pre-soak eight bamboo skewers in cold water for 15 minutes. This will prevent them from burning while on the barbecue.
In a bowl whisk together the vinegar, sesame oil, adding a teaspoon of the sugar and the chilli.
Add the cucumber and capsicum, tossing to combine. Now refrigerate until serving time.
Pre-heat the griller. In a bowl toss the chicken with ground coriander, pepper and a pinch of salt. Put aside to rest for five minutes.
Meanwhile, puree the garlic, peanuts, fresh coriander, chicken stock, lime juice and the remaining sugar in a food processor.
Thread the chicken pieces on to the bamboo skewers and grill away from the main source of heat.
Serve the satay skewers with the peanut sauce and the cucumber salad with the lemon wedges alongside.