My Chinese Recipes – Old Chinese Roasted Chestnut?

Roasted chestnuts are one of the ancient Chinese refreshments in our winter! When I was a child, it was very easy to find street vendors with their wooden carts parked on the streets, toiling away with a big shovel to stir chestnuts with big cans of black sugar all the time. The street vendor must keep stirring the chestnuts to keep them warm but they cannot be too hot; otherwise it would crack the chestnut shells. Nowadays, it is very difficult to find these street vendors on the streets. However, many Taiwanese and Japanese beverage manufacturers have made ready-to-eat roasted chestnuts that are packed in small packages, and we can easily draw from memory at any time.

Can we make roasted chestnuts at home? Yes, we can simply roast the chestnut using our microwave oven!

Method:

1. Boil the chestnuts for 4 minutes, drain them well.

2. Use microwave ‘HIGH’ to cook for 2 minutes (2 minutes is ideal for 1 pound of chestnuts).

3. It’s done and ready to serve!

You may wonder if they really taste just like those roasted by street vendors with just three simple steps.

Certainly, it is absolutely the same. The reason is very simple.

Firstly, the boiling process helps keep the chestnut flesh soft.

Second, 2 minutes in the microwave takes the moisture out of the chestnut shells and makes them crisp. However, the chestnut meat is protected by the layer of water vapor between the shell and the meat; this keeps the chestnut meat soft and tasty.

Still don’t believe? Only less than 10 minutes, why not give it a try?