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    Home » Recipe Round-ups

    Published: Jul 20, 2023 · Modified: Jan 14, 2024 by Zen · This post may contain affiliate links.

    19 Asian Nut Recipes (Sweet & Savory)

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    The best easy and delicious Asian Nut Recipes that go beyond roasted spiced nuts.

    Cantonese walnut cookies for Chinese New Year with red packets
    Jump to:
    • History
    • Warning
    • Appetisers & Snacks
    • Mains
    • Noodles
    • Vegan
    • Desserts
    • 💬 Comments

    If you've a ton of nuts left over from making classic Chinese nut cookies- traditional peanut cookies, Chinese almond cookies, cashew cookies, old-school walnut cookies, sesame brittle and what not- here are some sweet and savory nut recipes to help you use up your stash!

    History

    Peanuts were introduced to China by Portuguese traders and they're locally known as: Changshengguo ("long-life fruit"), Didou (meaning "earth bean"), Qiansuizi (meaning "thousand-year-old offspring") etc... As you can see, many of their names are related to life!

    At traditional Chinese weddings, nuts are usually included as the word "peanut" in Chinese 花生 is a homonym for giving birth and thus symbolise fertility. In the past, the wedding bed would have some nuts on it, but since it's 2022, why not feature some of these Asian sweet and savoury Nut recipes on the menu instead?

    Warning

    Nut allergies, in particular to peanuts, can lead to anaphylaxis and severe shock so always check guests' dietary requirements before preparing a nut dish!

    Symptoms of a nut allergy range from hives and swollen lips to nausea or a tight feeling in the throat.

    Appetisers & Snacks

    Candied Walnuts with Sesame Seeds

    Holding up a big pieces of Chinese walnut candied with sesame seeds.

    Candied walnuts, covered in sesame seeds, are a popular appetizer at many Chinese restaurants.

    EASY Chinese Candied Walnuts (Baked)
    These Chinese Candied Walnuts are crunchy, sweet, salty, and delicious. Easy to make, they'll done in one step in UNDER 30 MINUTES. And, they'll save you a ton of money as they're so much cheaper than those outside. Plus, they're healthier as they're baked (traditionally, they're fried, but baked ones taste just as good!)
    Click here for the Chinese walnut recipe.
    A tray of homemade candied walnuts with sesame seeds.

    Asian slaw with cashews

    A plate filled with slaw and cashews in an Asian-inspired sauce
    Asian slaw with cashews
    Asian cuisine doesn't have a lot of traditional salad dishes, but Asian inspired sauces, using soy sauce, fish sauce and/ or chilli, go really well with some salads. My fave is mango, avocado and prawn tossed in nuoc cham (water-garlic-sugar-lime juice-fish sauce) but this Joyful Dumplings slaw is a close runner up!
    Click here for the Asian coleslaw recipe.
    A plate filled with slaw and cashews in an Asian-inspired sauce

    Ikan bilis and kacang goreng

    Another easy peanut recipe would be to fry the nuts with ikan bilis (anchovies) and sliced garlic- this crunchy topping keeps for weeks at room temperature (in an airtight container) and is delicious with rice, noodles, porridge or on its own!

    Just make sure the oil is hot enough before frying (there should be bubbles forming around your wooden chopsticks when you insert it into the oil) and fry the nuts before the ikan bilis, as they turn the oil black easily!

    Chinese Braised peanuts

    A scoop of braised Chinese peanuts with the ingredients in the background.

    This is a peanut dish that you see at almost every bak kut teh restaurant. It's also a great side dish for Teochew porridge.

    You will need large shelled peanuts. Put them in a pot with Chinese 5-spice powder, dark soy sauce, rock sugar and water. Braise till they are soft and melt in the mouth.

    Tip: to get the peanuts as tender as possible, a slow cooker, pressure cooker or instant pot would be very handy!

    Fried Peanuts

    This simple but irresistible Chinese snack, 香酥花生米, is made with only 3 ingredients!

    Mains

    Someone holding up a plate of coconut fish curry with white rice.

    You wouldn't be able to tell that many Singaporean curries contain nuts. They actually use candlenuts, or buah kemiri in the local language, as a binder for the curry sauce. If you can't get this, macadamias or 1 of the other substitutes in the link will do in a pinch!

    Singaporean Tamarind Coconut Fish Curry
    An 8-ingredient curry with flaky fish in a spiced, creamy curry sauce. The tamarind juice gives the flavorful Singapore Tamarind Coconut Fish Curry a delicious citrusy acidity (and makes sure there is no fishy flavor)- unusual for a curry, but makes for a super satisfying meal with white rice. (Dairy-free) (Stovetop)
    Click here for the Singapore Fish Curry recipe.
    Close-up of a white plate of tamarind fish curry with coconut and rice.

    Chicken & Cashew Stir Fry

    Chicken and cashew, a popular Chinese takeout recipe, can be easily made at home.

    Noodles

    Mee Siam

    A bowl of sumptuous Mee Siam Noodles with prawns, egg, tofu and Chinese Koo Chye.

    Like Singapore curry, Mee Siam Soup and Mee Siam Goreng are made using candlenuts to thicken the gravy.

    Authentic Singapore Dry Mee Siam Goreng
    A popular breakfast in Singapore, dry mee siam goreng is sweet, spicy, salty, a little sour and altogether delicious! A feast for the senses but simple to make!
    Click here for the Stir-fried noodle recipe.
    A pair of chopsticks grabbing some fried mee siam goreng with eggs and red chili.

    Zucchini noodles with cashews

    A close-up of a pan full of zucchini noodles and cashews
    Zucchini noodles with cashews
    If you've been overindulging lately but crave noodles, make them out of zucchini as shown in this Cooktoria recipe! (A spiralizer would come in handy here) Note: I have several nut noodle recipes on this list but the sauces are all different- try them to see which is your fave!
    Click here for the zucchini noodles recipe.
    A close-up of a pan full of zucchini noodles and cashews

    Spicy Thai Noodles

    A bowl of stir-fried noodles tossed in a Thai peanut sauce in a blue bowl
    Spicy Thai peanut noodles
    Like most Thai dishes, this is sweet, spicy and savoury- the only thing I'd change about this Recipe52 recipe is to use chicken legs instead of breast meat but that, of course, is a matter of personal preference!
    Click here for the Peanut Noodles Recipe.
    A bowl of stir-fried noodles tossed in a Thai peanut sauce in a blue bowl

    Vegan

    Sweet potato curry

    A plate of sweet potato curry with a Indonesian-inspired sauce

    Using peanut butter to cook Asian food can be a little controversial as purists frown on it.

    However, as long as you use pure peanut butter - the pricey one in the supermarkets LOL- with no shortening or other additives, it can make for very delicious yet easy to make Asian-inspired nut recipes!

    Vegan Sweet potato curry with peanut butter
    Chickpeas are super healthy, so I've always wanted to incorporate more in my diet but struggle to do so! VeganPunks had a genius idea to include them in this curry- the Indonesian flavours are delicious!
    Click here for the Vegan Curry Recipe.
    A plate of sweet potato curry with a Indonesian-inspired sauce

    Peanut noodles

    These noodles go really well with jasmine bubble tea!

    A skillet brimming over with noodles cooked in a peanut sauce and tofu
    Vegan peanut noodles
    Love this My Plantiful Cooking recipe for its super versatile sauce- if you don't feel like noodles, you can always use it to coat pan-fried tofu or, if you're not vegan, baked chicken!
    Click here for the vegan tofu and noodle recipe.
    A skillet brimming over with noodles cooked in a peanut sauce and tofu

    Cashew Garlic Sauce

    And if you still have cashews left over after the Asian slaw, give it a whizz with garlic and a bit of water in the blender to get a creamy yet vegan garlic sauce!

    Desserts

    Korean sweet pancakes (hotteok)

    A close up of a hotteok oozing syrup
    What's your favourite hotteok filling? I sometimes make mine with Gula Melaka, pandan and coconut- not very Korean! 😛

    Another of my favourite nut recipes is Korean sweet pancakes, or hotteok. They're pretty much pan-fried bread filled with nuts, cinnamon and brown sugar. Heaven! The type of nut is pretty flexible and you can use walnuts, peanuts or even sunflower seeds!

    How to use hotteok mix
    Hotteok is a sweet Korean street food that is like a Cinnamon Roll in pancake form, but even better! Learn to make it using a box mix.
    Click here for a hotteok mix recipe.
    5 Korean hotteok pancakes on a serving board next to a cup of tea.

    Traditional Singaporean muah chee

    A plate of homemade steamed muah chee, or Chinese mochi, coated with peanuts
    Not a fan of peanuts? Use other crushed nuts, black sesame or even cocoa powder instead!
    Muah Chee (Peanut Mochi) (5 Methods)
    An easy recipe for this South Chinese street snack that can be steamed, fried, microwaved, air fried or made in a rice cooker!
    Check out the traditional Chinese glutinous rice snack here.
    Someone holding a piece of peanut coated traditional muah chee.

    Vegetarian Hup Toh Soh

    Chinese Walnut Cookies with Chinese New Year red packets
    Chinese Walnut Cookies (Hup Toh Soh)
    Also known as He Tao Su, these classic vegetarian cookies are easy to make at home, using store cupboard ingredients, and can be made vegan as well (info below). Crispy, crumbly and fragrant, they go well with coffee or milk tea!
    Check out the Chinese Walnut Cookie here.
    Chinese Walnut Cookies with Chinese New Year red packets

    CNY Peanut cookies

    Chinese peanut cookies on a plate with its ingredients peanuts, peanut oil, flour, sugar and egg
    Inspired by the "How to cook the Perfect..." column in The Guardian (UK newspaper), I baked over 2000 cookies before coming up with this ultimate Chinese peanut cookie recipe. Typically eaten over Chinese New Year, but there's no reason why you can't have it on regular days as well 🙂

    Note: these addictive cookies are naturally vegan.

    Traditional Chinese Peanut Cookies (CNY 2023)
    The Best CNY peanut cookie recipe ever- developed after baking 2000 cookies, it's crunchy yet melts in the mouth! Someone once bought 20 jars of this from me at a go!
    Check out this Chinese New Year peanut snack here.
    12 types of Chinese peanut cookies made from 12 different recipes on a plate

    Cashew Cookies

    A plate of Chinese Cashew Cookies with Chinese New Year decorations around.
    Chinese Cashew Cookies (No Mixer)
    Made with only 4 or 5 ingredients and mixable by hand, these easy Chinese Cashew Cookies are the perfect treat for Lunar New Year! Quick and easy, they're ready in under 30 minutes (if you're not making your own cashew flour.)
    Click here for the Chinese nut cookies.
    Close-up of a Chinese New Year cashew cookie with more in the background.

    Butter Almond Cookies

    6 American style Chinese walnut cookies on a Peranakan plate.
    Chinese Almond Cookies 2023 (Buttery)
    These Chinese Almond Cookies are the Asian-American version: they have a sweet, buttery and crisp texture, making them utterly delicious!
    Click here for the American Cantonese Almond Cookies.
    Close-up of a hand picking up a Chinese almond cookie.

    8 Treasure Congee

    八宝粥 is a popular Chinese festival food that is nutritious and delicious!

    Which of these savory nut recipes was your favourite?

    I have other recipes you may like here! :)

    • 3 Bao Buns next to a bamboo basket with 3 steamed buns.
      39 Asian & Chinese Christmas Recipes
    • Close-up of red date chicken soup in a black pot.
      7 Dried Jujube Fruit Recipes
    • Dipping a Chinese meatball into a bowl of spicy mayo,
      23 Asian Christmas Party Appetisers
    • A bowl of shrimp congee toped with fresh green onions.
      23 Best Congee Toppings

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Gregory Halpen says

      January 06, 2022 at 2:42 pm

      These look amazing! I want to try the pancake and the slaw. So excited to try these. Yum!!

      Reply
      • Zen says

        January 07, 2022 at 2:39 pm

        Thanks Gregory! Let me know if you like them!

        Reply
    2. Rosann says

      January 05, 2022 at 4:26 pm

      Those peanut noodles are becoming my dinner for sure! And I’m definitely trying several others, thank you so much for this

      Reply
      • Zen says

        January 06, 2022 at 5:44 am

        So glad to hear Rosann, enjoy the peanut noodles and happy 2022!

        Reply
    3. Giangi Townsend says

      January 05, 2022 at 12:39 pm

      I love Chinese peanut cookies and your recipe suggestions are great, thank you for sharing.

      Reply
      • Zen says

        January 05, 2022 at 1:02 pm

        Thanks Giangi, so glad to meet someone else who loves peanut cookies!

        Reply

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    Greedygirlgourmet eating 2 sandwiches in Scotland

    Hi I'm Zhen also known as GGG! I couldn't boil water till I was 18! However, I love creating community and nurturing people, so when I lived abroad (in St. Andrews then London) for 11 years, I started hosting regular parties for friends, and that's how I started cooking and helping out in professional kitchens. (Couldn't cook before that!) I even organised a supper club for charity (which strangers came to!) Learning to cook late, I make sure my recipes go into enough detail for those new to Asian cuisine or who love a test kitchen approach to cooking!

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