Freshly fried peanuts with garlic and salt are really good. 
I used to buy those little brown paper bags filled with fried peanuts as a kid (you know the ones that absorb all the excess oil into the paper) outside school or later as an adult when I worked for a bank in Makati. I never bothered to try and cook them myself as it was so easy to just buy them. But since I started this website, I find that my food radar is on more often and I am more than willing to try food related adventures that I hadn’t thought of before. So when I found this great dried legume and fresh nut vendor in the Baguio market, I purchased a bag filled with a kilo of freshly peeled peanuts with their skins on for PHP80 with the intention of trying to make my own fried peanuts. I also bought some great garlic on the way home so I was all set for my fried peanut experiment.
To make just heat up lots of vegetable oil in a wok or pan, pour in the peanuts 
and peeled garlic and stir until cooked, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oil with a strainer, salt generously and serve hot. They were wickedly good. I wonder if they would be better if fried in peanut oil but that may just be a bit over the top. I also forgot to try a batch with some whole sili labuyo that would create a spicy garlic peanut… oh well, there is always next time. Oh, and by the way, the kilo of nuts would easily feed 15-20 people as a snack…and they would go great with a cold glass of beer or Diet Coke!
8 Responses
I’m nuts for nuts. Yeah, spicy peanuts with lots of salt and garlic is the best. We used to eat the crnnchy garlic that comes with the nuts we buy. Yummy!
dear me since blogging too my culinary imagination has
widened.
Dont you need a holiday to recover from your other holiday?
Been like 21 years since I last visited Baguio.
Yup, I needed a vacation from the longer one… so we hied off to Baguio for two nights! Back in rainy and humid Manila now…testing out avocado ice cream recipes.
I lived in Bagac (worked for Westinghouse on the Napot Point Nuclear Power Plant) for 3 years from 1978-1981 and during that time I grew to love the garlic roasted peanuts that are served in the Manila and every where else. I need to find the recipe or where to buy them in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Randy, you might find uncooked shelled peanuts in ethnic or health food stores with or without “skins” on. Then just try frying them with lots of thin slices of garlic and salt them to taste. Recipe or method is described in the post above.
MM, I’ve just started reading the archives. Our secret to really crunchy peanuts is to soak the peanuts in water for a few minutes then drain in colander before frying. The crispness really is different and i can’t stop eating.
I live in New York but go to the Philippines to recruit twice a year and love garlic peanuts too. I could not find uncooked peanuts, so figured i would try the recipe with roasted and salted peanuts… What a disaster! DONT TRY IT!
I will continue to search for uncooked peanuts.
Evan
this is rather scientific, but im using blanched peanut imported from china. I deep fry the peanut but prior to frying, i soak it 1st in water and this affect the quality. the “crunch” is not there right after cooking but after several days of storage. i want it “crunchy” fresh. is there something wrong with process? help!