Peanut butter made a surprise debut on Food Safari Earth, so we decided to celebrate this seriously versatile spread.
Homemade hoisin is a hella handy addition to quick weeknight meals. Add the PB-spiked sauce to stir-fries, Asian-inspired omelettes or serve as a dipping sauce for skewers and rice paper rolls. Via Feast magazine
Ubiquitous across West Africa in countries such as Senegal, Gambia and Mali, this West African peanut stew takes on many guises. The meat, vegetable and spice components are all variable so feel free to experiment, using sweet potatoes, cabbage, beef, fish, eggplant or a dash of cayenne, as the mood strikes you – the dish can also be entirely meat free.
Source: China Squirrel
PB experimentation is on the rise, but if you’re looking for a truly nutty idea, turn the spread into ice-cream then serve atop a bowl of watermelon in rosewater syrup. This so-weird-it-works combo comes from The Food of China.
Source: Leanne Kitchen
Some people think a square of chocolate brownie is enough, others – like the crazy kids at Feast – throw caution to the wind, adding ripples of PB to their brownie, drizzling with melted chocolate and more peanut butter (this time in a warm sugar- and butter-laced sauce), and topping with vanilla ice-cream.
While Malaysia and Thailand are best known for satay, the nutty sauce is also popular in parts of Africa. In this Sierra Leone recipe, peanut butter chicken skewers are topped with ginger yoghurt. Via Feast
Peanut butter chicken skewers with ginger yoghurt Source: Chris Chen
“We are not sure you will ever forgive us for introducing you to the incredible flavour combination in this recipe,” warn the food dept. before sharing the jawdropper: peanut butter and choc chunk ice-cream with cinnamon salt and peanut biscuit. It sounds like a mouthful and literally is – especially if you sandwich said ice-cream between your bikkies.
Peanut butter and choc chunk ice-cream with cinnamon salt and peanut biscuits Source: Petrina Tinslay
Featuring wheat noodle covered in creamy sesame, peanut and soy sauce, ma jiang mian is a street food favourite in Taiwan. Similar to variations of dan dan mian, this dish is so popular you'll find it at late night convenience stores (or in recipe form in Feast).
Source: Ben Dearnley
If you've never tried the non-fruit part of the pumpkin, this is an excellent way to start. Pumpkin leaves are a little like a sweet spinach and are wickedly delicious when cooked with the peanut sauce. Get this Zimbabwean recipe right here.
Pumpkin shoots with peanut butter served here with sadza. Source: Food Safari Earth
Thanks to pearling industry of yesteryear, Broome is home to a melting pot of South-East Asian cultures and cuisines. These Broome beef satays from Food Safari are rubbed with cumin, coriander and curry powder, barbecued and drizzled with a coconut and peanut sauce.
Take a leaf out of a Filipino home cook’s book and add peanut butter to your stew. Known as kare kare, this casserole includes oxtail, eggplant and annatto powder, a plant seed product known for its vibrant yellow-orange colour.
4_Kare kare_1041012825
Revisit your childhood with this Heston Blumenthal-inspired giant Snickers cake from Feast. The flourless chocolate batter is layered with caramel and peanut mousse, then coated with a glossy glaze.
Like soaring summer temperatures, peanut butter's on a mission to be So Hot Right Now. Join the cause and combat your own heatstroke by whipping up a batch of Colin Fassnidge's praline peanut butter pops. This ingenious recipe doesn't require an ice-cream maker, just freeze the mixture in a slab, insert popsicles, roll in praline and BAM.
Find more vote-worthy peanut recipes here.
Have we got your attention and your tastebuds? Brand-new series Food Safari Earth airs 8pm, Thursdays on SBS then on SBS On Demand. For recipes and more visit the program site right here.
Other bits and bobs:
