food 4 tots

How to roast cashew nuts

P9122130-copy

HOW TO ROAST CASHEW NUTS

Adapted and modified: 双如淡食, 光华日报(Kwong Wah Jit Poh)

Ingredients:
300g cashew nuts (refer to Note 1)
2-3 tbsp sea salts (based on your own preference)
2 litre water

Kitchen tools:
Measuring cup
Measuring spoons
Cooking pot (20cm width)
A pair of cooking chopsticks (10 inches long)
Baking tray (12 x 10cm)
Sieve

Method:

  1. Preheat oven at 120°c.
  2. Wash and rinse cashew nuts. Drain well.
  3. Add water in a cooking pot and bring to a boil.
  4. Add in sea salts.
  5. Add in cashew nuts.
  6. When the cashew nuts start to float on the water, remove and drain with a sieve. (Note: It will take about 2-3 minutes) (refer to photo 2 and 3).
  7. Pat dry with kitchen towels.
  8. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil on a baking tray (optional).
  9. Spread the cashew nuts evenly on a baking tray, put them on the middle (or slightly 1 level up) and roast then for half an hour. (refer to photo 4).
  10. Then use the chopsticks or large wooden spoon to stir them once and continue to roast for another half an hour and till the nuts are fragrant and lightly brown. (refer to Note 2)
  11. Once the cashew nuts are roasted enough, remove them from the baking tray to a cooler surface or they will continue to cook from the residual heat in the baking tray.
  12. After cooling down, store in an air-tight container. (refer to photo 1).

Note:

  1. I am using cashew nuts from Vietnam but cashew nuts from India are a better choice if you can buy them.
  2. The larger the nut, the longer the roasting time. At the end of the suggested roasting time, take one nut to test. Give it a bite. If it is still soft, continue to roast for another 10 minutes. Repeat this process until it reaches the crunchiness you desire. It’s fine to cook them slightly underdone as the residue heat will continue to cook these nuts after removed from the oven. Once the nuts are cooled down, they will turn crispy.
  3. Do not roast the nuts under high temperature as it will damage the nut healthy fats resulting the production of free radical. (Source:  WHFoods).

cashew-nuts4

If you like this article, please share:

Pin It!

57 Comments

  1. I am a nut fan too! 🙂
    The pictures are really stunning!

  2. Ching says:

    Looks great, what a good idea! I eat nuts sparingly too, right now I’m eating pistachio. 🙂

  3. mycookinghut says:

    I love cashew nuts. Good to learn how to roast them! 🙂

  4. Alice says:

    I can also go nuts on nuts! 😀 It is such a good way to roast cashewnuts, especially during festive season. Agreed! Can save your pocket a lot. Nice little nutty!

  5. NKOTB says:

    hahahhaa…. nutty fellows!! 🙂

  6. […] the original post: How to roast cashew nuts | Food-4Tots | Recipes for Toddlers Share […]

  7. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Andy Dinsmore and Joanne Loh, Lai Kuan. Lai Kuan said: Do you love cashew nuts? Want to enjoy this healthy snack with huge saving? http://bit.ly/1PrNcB […]

  8. Piggy says:

    That’s so interesting! I didn’t know that the nuts have to be cooked in water before roasting. Thanks for sharing the recipe, my hubby is a “nutty” person too, and I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to have homemade roast nuts!

  9. anncoo says:

    Thanks for sharing. Your frame by frame method really makes me 大开眼界。

  10. I Really like to eat cashew! I’d buy cashew to eat even though they are quite expensive here. Hehe…
    Your post on choosing and cooking cashew is fantastic and helpful.

  11. Kk says:

    Do you know you can eat them raw? Its sweet and minus the cholesterol 😛 Of course they are nicer (I don’t feel much difference) roasted.

  12. wonderful pictures! and you do make it seem so easy 😉

  13. Beautiful! Love all sorts of nuts!

  14. peanutts says:

    Why do you think i call myself peanutts hehehe, although hehehe. In places like india and pakistan there are people pushing carts of nuts and they roast them for you when you buy them. You have worked a lot setting up those photoes, they look great!

  15. Roasting your own nuts is a great idea! And, they’re so delicious when still warm.

  16. Christine says:

    I miss the old kachang putei man outside the cinemas (am I giving my age away?) I tend to be lazy and just buy the ready roasted nuts, but thanks for providing the tips to do it ourselves!

    • food-4tots says:

      Christine: Hey, me too! If not mistaken, I can still find them in Penang. This method is really easy-peasy. With just a little bit of efforts, you get to save a lot of $$$$$! LOL! 😉

  17. lingzie says:

    yum yum!! my family absolutely loves nuts especially cashew nuts and macadamia nuts! but like you said, its expensive to buy the roasted ones from the store. i’ll definitely be trying this out! 🙂

  18. beachlover says:

    I love all type of nuts! luckily my daughter can take any kind of nuts like her mother! what a pretty presentation and info!

  19. Dora says:

    Food Art! 😀

  20. So clever of you to use a bowl and chopsticks! I would never have thought of it. Cashews aside, I have to agree with Angie – the photography is stunning.

  21. tigerfish says:

    You are going nuts, I am too!
    Just bought a big pack of mixed nuts yesterday – cashews, walnuts, almonds, pecans, almonds….

  22. noobcook says:

    I’m going nuts over nuts too! hehe … Really love the aroma of roasted nuts, it’s so heavenly 🙂

  23. Julia says:

    Hi. Love your blog and most of the food blogs out there. Its an inspiration. I would like roasting nuts for CNY. Does this method applies to all nuts, eg. walnuts, peanuts, almonds, and hazelnuts?

    • food-4tots says:

      Julia: Really appreciate your kind words. I haven’t tried it with other nuts. Maybe you can do a google search to find out more before trying. Sorry, can’t help much. If you’ve the solution, do share with me yeah. 😉

  24. Sandra says:

    I have a bag of cashew nuts still in the shell. How do I roast them? When I was a child we used to do it on a piece of galvanize over an open fire in the backyard.

    • food-4tots says:

      Sandra: Thanks for dropping by. I haven’t tried roasting cashew nuts with shell. According to WHFoods, the interior of the cashew nut shells contains a caustic resin, known as cashew balm, which must be carefully removed before the nuts are fit for consumption. This caustic resin is actually used in industry to make varnishes and insecticides. Maybe you can read through this article on how to remove the shells from the cashew nuts. Hope it helps. 😉

  25. Annie says:

    Thanks for sharing how to roast cashew nuts. I bought some raw cashew nuts meant for Kung Po Chicken but had no inkling how to use them until my research on the internet direct me to your blog. I tried it and the nuts were so tasty we forgot to add them into the Kung Po: ate it just the way it is… yum!

  26. pearl says:

    Hi, Roasted the cashew nuts yesterday but it is soft not crispy. Under Method 2 – when the water boils, add salt, cashew nuts “DO WE SWITCH OFF THE FIRE” or let it continue boiling until all the cashew nuts float up then pour away the water. Can we use a ladle to stir the cashew nuts in the boiling water. Do we roast it on high heat for the first half hour then reduce the heat.
    Many thanks if you could help with these questions as I love cashew nuts and want to try roasting cashew nuts again.

    • food-4tots says:

      Pearl: Thanks for your kind feedback. Yes, let the water continue boiling until you see some (not all) of the cashew nuts floating on the surface of the water. You can use a ladle to stir but it’s optional. Btw, what is the reason you want to stir the nuts? It’s not advisable to roast nut on high heat as it may damage the nut’s delicate fats as mentioned in this link – http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=104. After roasting for one hour, test the nuts. If it is not crispy, then roast it for another 10-15 minutes at 120C. Put your tray on the middle rack or one level up during roasting. Spread the nuts on 1 single layer. Do not over-crowd them. Remember not to over-roast the nuts. Hope this helps and let me know how it goes on your 2nd attempt. 😉

  27. wah says:

    why do we have to boil the cashew nuts before roasting?
    Many thanks

    • food-4tots says:

      Wah: That’s a good question!! Unfortunately, the original recipe didn’t elaborate on this step. I think boiling cashew nuts in well salted water will bring out extra aroma to the nuts during roasting as compared to direct roasting method (without adding salt). This is merely my personal intepretation. If you have other findings, please share with me. Thanks! 😉

  28. […] What you need (adapted from Food4Tots) […]

  29. precy says:

    I have a big bag of cashew nuts(3 kilos) bought in the grocery but it got exposed and become soft and not crispy. What shall i do to make it crispy again?

    • food-4tots says:

      Precy: Are they raw or roasted? If they are roasted, I’m not sure whether cashew nuts are suitable to be roasted twice. I’m also concerned about the nutrients if you do so. If you don’t like to eat soft cashew nuts, you can blend them into jam just like how I made my peanut butter jam. You can mix cashew with peanut too. Start with a small amount first to see whether it suits your palate. Hope it helps! 🙂

Leave a comment to food-4tots