A Deliciously Tasty Chinese Peanut Soup Recipe
Many types of Chinese soups can really hit the spot, but peanut soup is no doubt one of the best soups because it is so different from most other soups. How can you make a deliciously tasty Chinese peanut soup recipe? Read on to recreate a delectable Chinese soup right in the comfort of your own home.
What is Peanut Soup?
Peanut soup is a special soup because it is actually sweet. However, it is not overpoweringly sweet. It can be either served as a dessert soup (yes, a dessert soup!), or you can serve it as part of a dinner. These characteristics make it such a unique dish to serve, and many guests are excited to try this dish if they’ve never had it before.
Peanut soup uses sparse ingredients, so it’s pretty easy to make. Depending on how you make it, this soup can take many hours to make, but the steps couldn’t be easier, and most of the time spent is time waiting for peanuts to soak or cook, so you won’t have to do a lot of work in that time.
Why You’ll Love This Soup
There are so many reasons to love this soup. Here are just a few.
- A good balance of sweet and nutty.
- Convenient and easy to make.
- You can make this no matter your cooking skill level.
- It tastes great!
- It’s not like most other soup recipes you’ll find.
Amazing Pressure Cooker Peanut Soup Recipe
This amazing peanut soup is best made in a pressure cooker, but if you don’t have a pressure cooker or prefer other means of cooking, that’s okay too, and you can keep reading for tips on making this soup without a pressure cooker. If you’ve never had peanut soup before, prepare to be amazed, and keep this recipe handy whenever you want to impress your friends!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (about 300 grams) of shelled peanuts
- 6 cups of water
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Instructions
- Add the peanuts and water to the pressure cooker.
- Pressure-cook on high for 40 minutes.
- Let the pressure cooker release naturally.
- Put the pressure cooker on sauté mode. When the pressure cooker is heated, add sugar and salt. Cook and stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Your soup is ready to serve!
What if I Don’t Have a Pressure Cooker?
My favorite way to make this soup is in a pressure cooker because the pressure cooker is easy, fast, and saves you on prep time. However, you will be able to make this on the stovetop or using a slow cooker, and it will taste just as good. It will take longer to make than using a pressure cooker. Most of the time you will need to spend on this recipe will be waiting time rather than active cooking time.
To Soak or Not to Soak
Soaked nuts are known for their health benefits because when nuts are soaked, they are easy to digest, and soaking neutralizes enzyme inhibitors. Soaking also helps make the nutrients more impactful. Thus, there are a lot of good reasons to soak your nuts, and this is not a step you will want to skip.
If you are slow cooking or cooking over the stove top, I recommend soaking your peanuts for around 8 hours. This makes sure the nuts start to get soft and absorb the water before you begin cooking them.
If you don’t take this step, you will struggle to get the right texture of the soup, and the peanuts may remain too hard. When you are using a pressure cooker like the Instant Pot, you will not need to soak the peanuts because the high pressure will do the work for you.
Stove Top Tips and Tricks
When you are cooking on the stove, you will want to rinse your peanuts and then soak them as described above. You can then put the peanuts in the pot. Bring the water to a boil and add the peanuts.
When the peanuts are boiling, lower the heat and let the soup simmer. You should cook the peanuts for about one hour. The peanuts must be mashable, but you don’t want them to be overly soft. You can then add the sugar and cook further until the sugar fully dissolves. You can also add your salt at this time.
Slow Cooker Tips and Tricks
For those of you who prefer using a slow cooker, the steps aren’t that different from on the stovetop. Mostly, the slow cooker just takes longer to cook.
After rinsing and soaking your peanuts, you will want to add your water and your peanuts to your slow cooker. On low heat, you will want to cook your peanuts for eight hours. After your peanuts
What About Blending?
Some people like to take the extra step of blending the soup in a blender or using an immersion blender because they want their soup to be more creamy than chunky.
I prefer to stir my soup a little to get some breakdown of the peanuts, but I like to keep the chunks of soft peanuts as this soup is commonly served. Some people even blend half the peanuts while keeping the rest unblended. So there are many blending options to meet your personal preferences.
If you prefer to have a smooth soup, you can blend the peanuts or mash them with a fork. If you are soaking your peanuts, you can even blend the peanuts after the soak but before you put the peanuts in the water.
Alternatively, you can blend the soup just before you serve it. Personally, I find blending to be more of a pain than it’s worth.
What if I’m Allergic to Peanuts?
When serving a meal, peanut allergies are often a concern. Don’t worry; peanut allergies don’t have to stop you from making this soup. While it may seem silly to ask if you can make a peanut soup without peanuts, it is actually possible to make some substitutions.
The taste will be a little different, but even people with peanut allergies can enjoy this type of soup. Cashews are a great swap for peanuts, and while the taste will be slightly different, the texture and overall idea of the soup will be quite similar.
Can This Recipe Be Part of a Healthy Diet?
You may think that a dessert soup can’t possibly be good for you, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. While this soup does have sugar and salt in it, which some people like to limit, it also has healthy nutrients from peanuts.
Peanuts are known for heart health capabilities and for improving cholesterol levels. Research has even shown that people who eat peanuts or other nuts regularly tend to live longer. Peanuts are also quite satiating, so while this soup tastes like a treat, it actually has a ton of benefits for your well-being.
