The market · Nuts and seeds · West Africa, Southeast Asia, The Americas
Peanuts
A legume, not a nut, that ripens underground — first grown in South America, and now central to West African, Southeast Asian and Chinese cooking.
roasted · nutty
What to do with it
JavaneseSate MaduraSmall skewers of chicken, glazed in kecap manis and grilled over charcoal, under a peanut sauce with lontong and raw shallot.No one here has made it yetJavaneseGado-gadoBlanched vegetables, potato, tofu, tempeh, egg and lontong under a thick peanut sauce, with prawn crackers on top.No one here has made it yetJavanesePecelBlanched greens and sprouts under a hot peanut sauce scented with kencur and lime leaf, with rice and a crisp peanut cracker.No one here has made it yetSundaneseKaredokRaw vegetables — long beans, cucumber, sprouts, cabbage, small aubergines and lemon basil — in a peanut sauce sharp with kencur.No one here has made it yetSundaneseBatagorFried fish dumplings and fish-stuffed tofu, cut up under a peanut sauce with kecap manis, chilli and lime.No one here has made it yetSundaneseSiomay BandungSteamed fish dumplings with cabbage, potato, bitter gourd, tofu and egg, all steamed together and drowned in peanut sauce.No one here has made it yet
ThaiSom tamShredded green papaya pounded with chilli, garlic, lime, fish sauce and palm sugar, with tomatoes, long beans and peanuts.No one here has made it yet
ThaiPad thaiThin rice noodles stir-fried with tamarind, fish sauce and palm sugar, egg, tofu and prawns, with beansprouts, chives and crushed peanuts.No one here has made it yetThaiMassaman curryA rich, mild coconut curry fragrant with cardamom, cinnamon and clove, with beef or chicken, potatoes and peanuts, sweet and sour with palm sugar and tamarind.No one here has made it yet
VietnameseChèA family of sweet soups and puddings — beans, jellies, fruit or tapioca in syrup or coconut milk, hot or over ice.No one here has made it yetMalaysianNasi lemakRice cooked in coconut milk and pandan, with sambal, crisp anchovies, peanuts, cucumber and egg.No one here has made it yetMalaysianSataySkewers of turmeric-marinated meat grilled over charcoal, with a sweet, spicy peanut sauce, rice cakes, cucumber and onion.No one here has made it yetTeochewTeochew porridgeRice cooked in plenty of water only until the grains are soft but whole, eaten with a spread of small salty dishes.No one here has made it yetFujianPopiahA soft, paper-thin wheat crêpe rolled round a filling of braised vegetables, egg, prawn and crushed peanuts.No one here has made it yetFujianSweet peanut soupPeeled peanuts simmered until they're soft enough to melt, in a light, sweet, milky-looking broth.No one here has made it yet
SichuanKung pao chickenDiced chicken stir-fried with dried chillies, Sichuan pepper and peanuts in a glossy sweet-sour sauce.No one here has made it yetKoreanHotteokA yeasted pancake, pressed flat on a griddle around brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts that melt into a molten syrup.No one here has made it yetGujaratiUndhiyuA winter medley of flat beans, purple yam, sweet potato, baby aubergine and plantain, slow-cooked with fenugreek dumplings and a green masala of coconut and coriander.No one here has made it yetGujaratiDal dhokliPieces of spiced wholewheat dough simmered in a sweet-sour toor dal with peanuts, jaggery and lemon — a whole meal in one pot.No one here has made it yetGujaratiDabeliA soft bread roll split and stuffed with a sweet, hot potato filling, tamarind-date chutney, masala peanuts, pomegranate and sev, then toasted in butter.No one here has made it yetPeruvianRocoto rellenoRocoto chillies, blanched to tame them, stuffed with spiced beef, peanuts and raisins, topped with cheese and baked.No one here has made it yetBrazilianVatapáA thick, creamy paste of bread, dried shrimp, peanuts and cashews cooked with coconut milk, dendê and ginger.No one here has made it yet
ThaiSom tamShredded green papaya pounded with chilli, garlic, lime, fish sauce and palm sugar, with tomatoes, long beans and peanuts.No one here has made it yetThaiPad thaiThin rice noodles stir-fried with tamarind, fish sauce and palm sugar, egg, tofu and prawns, with beansprouts, chives and crushed peanuts.No one here has made it yetThaiMassaman curryA rich, mild coconut curry fragrant with cardamom, cinnamon and clove, with beef or chicken, potatoes and peanuts, sweet and sour with palm sugar and tamarind.No one here has made it yetVietnameseChèA family of sweet soups and puddings — beans, jellies, fruit or tapioca in syrup or coconut milk, hot or over ice.No one here has made it yetMalaysianNasi lemakRice cooked in coconut milk and pandan, with sambal, crisp anchovies, peanuts, cucumber and egg.No one here has made it yetMalaysianSataySkewers of turmeric-marinated meat grilled over charcoal, with a sweet, spicy peanut sauce, rice cakes, cucumber and onion.No one here has made it yetTeochewTeochew porridgeRice cooked in plenty of water only until the grains are soft but whole, eaten with a spread of small salty dishes.No one here has made it yetFujianPopiahA soft, paper-thin wheat crêpe rolled round a filling of braised vegetables, egg, prawn and crushed peanuts.No one here has made it yetFujianSweet peanut soupPeeled peanuts simmered until they're soft enough to melt, in a light, sweet, milky-looking broth.No one here has made it yetSichuanKung pao chickenDiced chicken stir-fried with dried chillies, Sichuan pepper and peanuts in a glossy sweet-sour sauce.No one here has made it yetKoreanHotteokA yeasted pancake, pressed flat on a griddle around brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts that melt into a molten syrup.No one here has made it yetGujaratiUndhiyuA winter medley of flat beans, purple yam, sweet potato, baby aubergine and plantain, slow-cooked with fenugreek dumplings and a green masala of coconut and coriander.No one here has made it yetGujaratiDal dhokliPieces of spiced wholewheat dough simmered in a sweet-sour toor dal with peanuts, jaggery and lemon — a whole meal in one pot.No one here has made it yetGujaratiDabeliA soft bread roll split and stuffed with a sweet, hot potato filling, tamarind-date chutney, masala peanuts, pomegranate and sev, then toasted in butter.No one here has made it yetPeruvianRocoto rellenoRocoto chillies, blanched to tame them, stuffed with spiced beef, peanuts and raisins, topped with cheese and baked.No one here has made it yetBrazilianVatapáA thick, creamy paste of bread, dried shrimp, peanuts and cashews cooked with coconut milk, dendê and ginger.No one here has made it yetKinds
- Raw
- For frying, roasting yourself, and groundnut soup.
- Roasted
- For crushing over noodles and salads.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- African and Asian grocers for raw, in bulk.
- Worth knowing
- Fry raw peanuts from cold oil over a low heat and lift them out just before they look done — they carry on colouring. And tell guests: peanut allergy can be severe.
Kitchens that keep it in
West Java, IndonesiaSundaneseThe cooking of West Java's highlands: raw vegetables and fresh sambal, pond fish wrapped in banana leaf, rice packed hot in a leaf, and Bandung's street snacks.8 classicsGujarat — western India, on the Arabian SeaGujaratiSweet, sour and gently hot: a largely vegetarian kitchen of gram flour, jaggery and buttermilk, of steamed and fried snacks, and a thali with a little of everything.9 classics
