Strange-flavor Peanuts

This is a take on a popular Sichuan snack, strange-flavor horse beans (dried fava or broad beans), that I found in Fuchsia Dunlop's Land of Plenty, which has to be my favorite cook book by my favorite food writer. If you are a fan of Sichuan food, then this is essential reading, as is her latest book, Shark Fin and Sichuan Pepper.

How to make the beans' coating, which is a surprising and delightful combination of caramel and ma la (numbing and spicy) flavors, had always been a mystery to me. It turns out that no witchcraft is required; the recipe is actually quite simple and only asks for a handful of ingredients.

You can buy already roasted and shelled peanuts at the store. I had raw peanuts, with the skins left on, so I roasted them myself. This made me nervous because I always seem to under- or overcook them, and end up ruining otherwise perfect dishes like Kung Pao Chicken. Luckily, I found some good directions on the web, which produced great results.

How to Roast Peanuts:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place 1/2 lb of peanuts in a single layer on a baking tray or dish.
3. If shelled, roast 15-20 minutes. If unshelled, roast 25-30 minutes. The peanuts will be slightly underdone, as they will continue cooking for ten more minutes when removed from the oven and set aside to cool. If you took the peanuts out a little late, and are worried they will overcook, you can speed up the cooling process by transferring them to a spacious, cold plate.

Now, for the recipe:
1/2 lb unsalted roasted peanuts (best if skin is rubbed off and thrown away, but I got lazy and skipped that, and was still happy with the results)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground roasted Sichuan pepper
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp clear rice vinegar

1. Combine salt, chili powder and Sichuan pepper in a small bowl.
2. Pour the white sugar plus 1/3 cup of water in a wok or saucepan and heat gently, stirring occasionally, to dissolve sugar. When the sugar has completely dissolved, turn up the heat and boil until almost hardball stage (if you drop a bit of the syrup in a bowl of cold water, you should be able to form a rather solid ball with your fingers). At this stage, large bubbles, which the Chinese call "fish-eye bubbles," rise to the surface.
3. Remove from heat and let it cool a bit. Then stir in your spice mixture and vinegar until they are evenly mixed through. (If you like, you can also add some finely minced ginger, garlic and scallion at this point.) Finally, add the peanuts and stir around vigorously as the syrup cools and hardens, to prevent big clumps of peanuts from forming. This last step takes several minutes. When I made it, I added more pepper and chili at the end, because the spices I used were kind of stale and weak. You should really be able to taste the Sichuan pepper, get some heat and a nice balance of sweet and salty. This is definitely an appetizer with a kick!

Strange-flavor peanuts are a great snack to have alone or with some drinks, for example, before a long meal. Be careful, they are addictive!