Cajun and Peanuts

I noticed that there's always a long queue at the Botak Jones outlet near our house. Authentic American food - Damn good food at a damn good price. That's their famous slogan. I've tried their cajun chicken and I like the spice-flavouring. Hubby likes it too, so I decided I'd do a cajun dish, but with fish meat instead of chicken. I like variety, remember? And I happened to have two slices of threadfin left in the freezer (what a coincidence, hehe...).

Since cajun is western, pasta (with green pesto sauce on top) would go well with it. Add a side salad order and the meal is just perfect!

That was Tuesday night. Tonight, however, I was in a porridge mood, and felt like braising some peanuts to tender softness to go with it. So I fired up my pressure cooker after filling it with washed shandong peanuts, one whole star anise, one piece of 3-inch cinnamon stick, and two big cups of water. When the mixture come to a boil, I added some seasoning (soy sauce, both light and thick, salt and sugar) and let it simmer a little while longer, and there you have it:

Hubby remarked that the peanuts are not soft enough though, but not too bad. Well, I'd admit it: I forgot to soak them in water before I leave home for work this morning. And I forgot to add in some smashed garlic too... Oh, gosh! I guess that's what happen when you anyhow cook. Shhhh....