Strange-Flavor Mixed Nuts
Named after the famous Sichuan flavor profile, this simple snack brings together sweet, salty, fiery, and tingly notes.
- Serves
4
- Prep
1 hour
- Time
20 minutes
A famous Sichuan snack that Jing Gao, founder of chili crisp brand Fly By Jing, grew up eating is guaiwei (literally, “strange flavor”) fava beans. The crispy, crunchy beans—fried and coated in a sugary, spicy, salty, and tingly coating—are usually served alongside afternoon tea, or as a bar snack. Since fava beans can be harder to find as readily in the United States, Gao often substitutes them with an assortment of mixed nuts. (For a different flavor profile that’s just as enticing, you can also substitute the chile-and-Sichuan-peppercorn mixture with about a tablespoon of mala spice mix.)
Adapted with permission from The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp: Spicy Recipes and Stories from Fly By Jing’s Kitchen by Jing Gao, copyright © 2023. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Featured in “A New Kind of Asian Grocer Has Arrived,” by Megan Zhang.
Ingredients
- 1½ tsp. Sichuan red chile powder
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. ground roasted Sichuan peppercorn
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1½ cups assorted nuts, such as cashews, peanuts, almonds, and pecans
Instructions
Step 1
Step 2
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