Batapi: Classic Japanese Buttered Peanut Snack
For a drinking party with my friends, I often go shopping at a convenience store near my house and prepare alcoholic beverages and “Otsumami (おつまみ)”.
Otsumami is the Japanese word for finger foods and nibbles eaten with alcoholic drinks, and convenience stores in Japan carry a large variety of those snacks.
Representative Japanese Otsumani include these dried squid snacks, cheese kamaboko, Kaki no Tane, and what I introduce here “Batapi (バタピー)” is also among them.
They are all Otsumami classics that have been favorites of Japanese drinkers through the ages.
What is Batapi?
“Batapi (バタピー)” is a compound word composed of “Bata (バタ)” and “Pi (ピー)”.
As the former Bata stands for butter, while the latter Pi is short for peanuts, Batapi is a battered peanut snack.
Based on this Japanese recipe site, the preparation of Batapi nuts is simple as follows,
- Heat a frying pan and put in a pat of butter.
- Once the butter starts to bubble, add blanched peanuts.
- Fry the nuts lightly and sprinkle salt over the pan.
- Place the cooked peanuts on a sheet of cooking paper and remove the excess oil.
- Enjoy the buttered peanuts!
Actually, we Japanese, except for cooking enthusiasts, hardly make Batapi at home but purchase it in grocery stores.
The majority of Batapi peanuts sold at supermarkets and convenience stores in Japan are not oily and dry.
Since Batapi has been a favorite of drinkers in Japan, many Japanese food companies produce the snack, adding unique twists.
For example, what sets this product apart from its counterparts is the use of Jane’s Krazy Mixed-Up Salt.
