Roasted Peanuts (Adobong Mani)

 

This is the spicy-garlicky-savoury sibling of an earlier post of  Panutsa (Candied Peanut Brittle).  Another Filipino street food, commonly known as Adobong Mani or Peanut Adobo, it is sold by most street vendors in every corner of the country.  It also served at some local bars (called pubs in Oz) as appetizer.  This is not like the supermarket beer nuts variety.  You may or may not add chillies, if you prefer just a simple roasted nuts taste, but the chillies gives this that extra X factor which makes you want to eat more, and more and more once you start!

To make this simple appetizer-cum-snack, you'll need:

500g of raw peanuts (same one we used for the Candied Peanut Brittle)

5 cloves of garlic, pounded (use the pound from a mortar and pestle set or the flat end of a chef's knife)

1 cup vegetable oil

5 long red chillies (or bird's eye chillies)

Heat oil in a large skillet or pan.  Add the nuts and cook/boil for 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and chillies, and cook until browned for another 5 minutes.  If the garlic is burning, take the garlic off and continue cooking the peanuts.  

Turn off heat and bring the garlic back in the pan and stir to coat the peanuts.  

Strain the cooked peanuts using a spider scoop (or a brass skimmer, or any kitchen utensil that has small holes and  handle which you can use to strain the oil) and place on a baking pan lined with baking paper and let cool.  (I'm sure while its cooling you'd be eating bits and bits....)

Keep in air tight containers.  

Speaking from experience, this can last for 2 weeks without affecting the taste.  But I do doubt that it will last that long.  They are seriously addictive, you'll find you ran out even before the week ends!  Seriously!