You might think this is an exaggeration, but it's true that my Mom was known far and wide for her "Chinese Fried Walnuts". She got the recipe from my sister and made them for years, sharing the results generously with nearly everyone she met.
Her "walnut guy" was a man she had met years before in the PTA, and she would travel to Delhi (CA) every year to purchase 200, then 250 lbs. of walnuts in the shell. Walnut-cracking was an activity that lasted most of the Fall, and anytime any of us were visiting we would help. Mom was particular, though. You have to tap the walnuts just so, so that they crack without smashing the nuts. We would separate the "halves" from the pieces, so getting the nut meats out whole was a special accomplishment. Mom had a special set of pans she would use to store the cracked nuts in, and a special piece of equipment she would use to crack the nuts on (I think it was originally part of a car axis!).
Mom made her Chinese Fried walnuts for every occasion, whether it was a bake sale, refreshments after church, gifts for the guy who serviced her car, or someone's birthday. One time my sister Mary stopped by a roadside fruit seller and left her wallet on the bumper and it fell off when she pulled away. The seller got ahold of Mary's husband, so by the time Mary realized her wallet was missing it was already back home. Mom heard this story and sent the guy Chinese Fried Walnuts to thank him for his honesty!
In addition to giving the nuts to people for their own enjoyment, people would request them as gifts for friends, and ship them far and wide. Mom felt a sense of responsibility to fulfill requests, whether convenient for her schedule or not. Many times we'd all go to bed and Mom would still be up making her Chinese Fried walnuts.
While she tried to teach us her techniques over the years, it's something you have to DO to really learn how. Now that Mom is gone, I am attempting to carry on her walnut tradition. In order to preserve the knowledge, I am sharing the recipe below, accompanied by all the tips learned or passed along.
First of all, the WALNUTS! Believe it or not, I never bought a bag of walnuts in my life until after I graduated from college, and therefore didn't appreciate what a difference it makes to have access to fresh walnuts vs. store bought. Mom always generously shared the walnuts she cracked and stored in her freezer. I realized that commercially sold walnuts have to be cracked by machine, so that's likely why they always look "beat up". Plus who knows how long they're stored after being cracked! After experiencing store-bought walnuts, I definitely appreciate the flavor of fresh cracked nuts, even though it's a major PAIN.
First you need a source of walnuts. Most markets sell walnuts in the shell around the holidays, but I needed to buy them IN BULK. Andy's Market in Sebastopol sells them (https://andysproduce.com/), and a friend acquired 50 lbs for me last year at Pedrick Produce in Dixon (https://pedrickproduce.com/). This year I decided to get serious about finding a reliable source of walnuts. I had purchased some at our local farmer's market last year, it turns out Katelyn's friend "the peach guy" also grows walnuts on his farm. I worked out a deal with him where if I buy a large quantity he sells them to me for $2/lb. So I have been buying them 10-20 lbs at a time, and am trying to keep up by cracking them as I buy them.
My niece Rachel also has walnut trees on her property near Mariposa, and graciously offered to let me come harvest them. Most had fallen on the ground by the end of October, and between the ones she gathered before I got there and the ones I picked up, I estimated I obtained another 40 lbs that way. After picking up walnuts for 2 hours and shucking the husk off of them, I had a whole new appreciation for the ones I bought all boxed and cleaned up for a mere $2 a lb!
Not only did Rachel give me walnuts, she also gifted me a nut cracker! This amazing piece of engineering was made in Texas and once you acquire #64 rubberbands (who knew rubberbands had different numbers!?!), this thing works like a charm.
Now that I am 80-ish lbs into my walnut cracking experience, I have a whole new appreciation for my Mom's indefatigable walnut cracking skills. I definitely need to find some walnut-cracking buddies!
Other than the walnuts, the rest of the ingredients are pretty straight forward. Sugar, salt, oil, water. The equipment is a little more extensive, though. I have refined the equipment I use over time to include the following:
Large pot to boil walnuts in
Large pot to fry walnuts in (I use an aluminum pot from my Mom called Guardian Ware. It's from the 1930's, so it's unlikely you'll find anything similar. I think any heavy-duty large pot would work well).
Large plastic bowl and rubber spatula to toss the sugar with the boiled walnuts
Two metal colanders with container underneath to catch liquid (plastic ones will melt over time, especially the one you use after the nuts are fried).
Two slotted spoons (one would work but it works better to have two as you have less chance of getting water in your hot oil).
Jellyroll pan (or two) for finished nuts
Candy thermometer (if you don't have one of these, my friend Randy taught me that you can test your oil by heating it until it pops popcorn. The required temperature is 350 degrees and since popcorn pops at 355, that works in a pinch).
Ingredients:
6 Cups Water
½ Cup Sugar
Salt
4 Cups shelled California Walnut Halves (my Mom only used halves. I have been using pieces too, but it does create lots of little bits in the hot oil, and if you don't get them out, they become bits of "char"!)
Salad Oil
Directions:
1. Boil water, add walnuts and boil 1 minute (I boil longer, until water is dark brown in color - see first video below).
2. Drain walnuts in colander, rinse under hot water, drain.
3. With rubber spatula, in a separate bowl stir drained hot walnuts with sugar until dissolved. If necessary, let mixture stand 5 minutes to dissolve sugar.
4. In heavy saucepan, heat 1 inch of oil to 350 degrees (I use 3-4 inches of oil). With slotted spoon, add about half of walnuts to oil (nuts need to be immersed). Fry 5 minutes, until golden, stirring often. (Tip: make sure to do this slowly! I double-drain the nuts before and after dissolving sugar to get out as much water as possible. The hot oil will "bubble over" when it comes in contact with water, so I add the nuts a spoonful at a time to avoid it "boiling over". )
5. With slotted spoon, place walnuts in colander over bowl to drain for a few minutes. Toss to keep walnuts from sticking together.
6. Transfer nuts to shallow pans and sprinkle with salt. Separate any that stick together. (Tip: I "mop up" the oil from beneath the nuts using paper towels, and toss them several times, adding more salt.)
7. Fry remaining nuts as before. When completely cooled, store in tightly covered container. Also good made with pecans.
The real trick I've found is in getting the nuts fried exactly right. If the oil is too hot or you leave them too long, they burn. If you pull them out early, they are underdone. My Mom had a method of examining the bubbles (just a few still coming up around each nut) or the color of the nuts ("golden brown"). My method is to get the oil to 350 degrees, then add the nuts and turn the heat down slightly, allowing it to come back up to 350 degrees slowly. Keep stirring the nuts, observe the amount of bubbles. When they slow down to just a few bubbles, it's time to pull them out.
This video demonstrates the color of water as the nuts are done boiling.
This video shows the amount of oil bubbles and color of the nuts as they are done frying.
Here is the color of nuts as they are done:
I have found I can use the same oil for 3 or so batches. After that it becomes dark and I think gives an off taste to the nuts. Mom used to store the used oil and re-use it. I've been storing it in large jugs and plan to recycle it.
Advanced tip: Mom always did each batch all the way through, one at a time. Given it was often late at night, after a full day of work, I can't believe that she would often make 4 or more batches that way. I've discovered that I can put the pot of water back on to boil as I drain the first batch. Once I finish frying the first half the nuts, I put another 4 cups of nuts in the now-boiling water. Then when I've finished frying the second half, the nuts are ready to drain and it goes faster.
To my siblings - if you have additions or comments on this topic please send them along. I know you all have your own experiences watching or helping make Chinese Fried!
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