Sourdough Savory Peanut Squares and Some Chinese Charcuterie

I've tasted so many breads and pastries with peanuts but they're all sweet. Peanuts are wonderful savory too so I decided to make a savory peanut bread. Braised peanuts are our favorite which is not so common in where we live. Using the fresh peanuts that my mom bought before quarantine, I made these squares (well, they are not so square-shaped but I will stick with the name. :P) to pass time and have something delicious to eat. These are inspired by the guo kui and other Chinese breads.


Five spice braised peanuts. So good! You can snack on them on their own or eat them with rice.

 Fried garlic makes almost everything better. 

Braised Peanuts on dough with a bit of fried garlic and freshly snipped chives.

Basic dough with a bit of sugar and oil though lard would certainly be a welcome addition here. Rolled flat, sprinkled with all things delicious rolled into a cylinder then cut into squares. No proofing, pan fried for 3 minutes on each side then baked at 180C for 20 minutes. Crispy on the outside; stretchy, soft and chewy on the inside with that great peanut flavor and fragrant from the garlic and chives.

 
When I posted my homemade sausages months ago, I said that my first venture into meat preservation are Chinese ones and I save them for a more fitting post. Here is this post.

Sweet Chinese Sausage - made with ground meat and soy sauce. Different from the more commonly seen pinkish Chinese sausages which I think does not use soy sauce. It also differs in taste a bit but the quality is much better.

  
Steamed and ready to be eaten.

Chinese Liver Sausage - Made the traditional way with sliced meat and liver. I did not find any resource for this type of sausage, it seems it is not as common as the meat sausages. I don't if this will be a success since liver is different from meat, it much softer and more delicate with a higher water and blood content. I think it was a success! Sweet with a good meaty flavor but with that slightly gamy bitter bite from the liver. The sliced meat and liver offer contrasting textures which is really better compared to the sausage made with ground meat.

 Salted Chicken Leg - Traditionally will be duck but I can't find duck legs where I live so I substituted chicken legs. Very good! Tastes very different from fresh chicken, not very salty and deeply savory. I deboned one to see if it makes a difference and yes it did, the deboned was chewier and tougher. Best to cook it with rice and with sweet sausages. The salty chicken and sweet sausage complements each other really well.

Chinese Bacon - Air-dried pork belly with spices. Our favorite. My parents always requests that I make these so we have a steady supply.






Cooked with rice so the rice absorbs all the flavorful fat.


Hanging outside just like in the countryside.