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Fried Cashews With Lime Zest and Chile

By Pepper Teigen

4.5

(4)

Chili Lime Cashews in a bowl with two glasses of white wine.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou

My time spent running a tavern taught me that everybody loves warm and toasty nuts when they’re drinking. This is my take on a very popular bar snack in Thailand: freshly fried cashews tossed with salt, chiles, scallions, and fragrant lime zest. Simple but so good with an ice-cold beer. You can balance the amount of each seasoning to suit your taste, but the nuts should be salty first, with a balance of spicy-sweet-sharp-tart going on in the background.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 1 cup

Ingredients

Vegetable oil, for shallow frying
1 cup raw cashews
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons Roasted Chile Powder
2 teaspoons grated lime zest

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Fill a small saucepan with 1 inch oil and set over medium heat. Line a plate with paper towels and set it near the stove.

    Step 2

    When the oil is shimmering-hot, carefully add the cashews and fry, stirring constantly, until light golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Keep in mind: The cashews will continue to cook after being removed from the oil and become a darker shade of brown, so it’s best to remove them when they are still a little pale. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cashews to the paper towels to drain.

    Step 3

    Place the hot cashews in a serving bowl and sprinkle evenly with the salt and brown sugar, tossing to coat. Add the scallions, chile powder, and lime zest and toss once more. Serve warm.

The Pepper Thai cookbook cover with photo of Pepper Teigen sitting at a table with a bowl of food.
From The Pepper Thai Cookbook: Family Recipes from Everyone's Favorite Thai Mom by Pepper Teigen and Garrett Snyder © 2021. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Buy the full book from Amazon, or Bookshop.
TagsThaiSoutheast AsianAsianCashewNutLimeCitrusFruitChileVegetableScallionOnionRoot VegetableSnackStarterDinnerDairy FreeGluten FreeVeganVegetarianFryCookbooks

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