Surprise - This is not baked beans!
I love to cook and come up with my own recipes. DH loves boiled in the shell peanuts. I had not encountered this delicacy until we went on a trip to Florida soon after our wedding. There were boiled peanuts stands everywhere once we reached Louisiana. I did not care for them and he got to enjoy them all.
Because his enjoyment of meals drives me to create new and different things as well as old favorites, I was always on the lookout for a way to make boiled peanuts a dish the entire family could enjoy.
Watching Korean dramas had opened a door to a cuisine I had only experienced through kimchi previously. I started buying gochujang (fermented red pepper paste) by the 3 kilo tub (that's over 6 pounds!) and using it whenever I wanted some spice on anything - eggs, pizza, cheese sandwiches.
Mulling over the boiled peanut question, one day I decided to try to boil shelled peanuts (the kind you might use for peanut brittle) with gochujang. About 1/2 cups or so to 1/2 pound of peanuts with enough water to cover the peanuts, brown sugar is optional, if you want it, add about 1/4 cup. The salt content of the gochujang kept the peanuts from becoming too mushy, I cooked until the peanuts were done and the sauce was reduced to a nice thick sauce, not quite a paste.
This is now DH's favorite banchan (side dish). I like it in bibimpap as well as alone. I've even reduced it down, adding double the sugar and made a spicy peanut cluster candy. Dipped in dark chocolate, it is yummy!
If you're looking for authentic Korean recipes, check out http://www.maangchi.com/. Her videos and cookbooks are great!
Back to our regularly scheduled knitting. Check out my group on Ravelry and join the Dorable KAL - you could win the giveaway on June 8:
Dorable KAL
Take care and keep your yarn dry.
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