Many Vietnamese people fled their home country after the Vietnam War and ended up in Louisiana. The Vietnamese were exposed to new, local foods resulting in some current mainstays of Vietnamese cuisine, such as Cajun crawfish boil, chicory in Vietnamese coffee and of course, boiled peanuts.
These are popularly boiled with just salt, or with Cajun spices, but in this recipe we’re going to keep it simple and only use salt.
Speaking of peanuts, check out the cutest peanut / my nephew here on our walk:
This was yet another hot summer day in Los Angeles. We took our time walking through the neighborhood and some restaurants, leaving footprints on the mattress store’s window (sorry!) and ended up in a bird store.
There were some beautiful birds there that the little dude just stared at the entire time in silence. The shopkeeper warned us to be careful to not get too close to avoid getting bitten. “You’d get in big trouble with the wife if that happened!” I laughed it off, “Yeah, if only I had a wife.” She scrambled for a reply, “Oh, or your husband.” o_O
Anyways let’s boil some peanuts!
Start with raw peanuts that are not dehydrated. Rinse these fellas well since they have lots of dirt on ’em. There’s nothing worse than feeling dirt or sand between your teeth!
Then all you have to do is boil the peanuts in salted water until it reaches a consistency you like. I like it to be soft, but not mushy–it should have some bite. Young peanuts taste better and cook faster, so I would just boil it for an hour, then check doneness by eating a peanut every 20-30 minutes until done.
There are other Asian and African variations on boiled peanuts that use spices, but I am completely happy with these. Maybe some other day! As if taste wasn’t enough for you, you can happily snack knowing boiled peanuts have 2-4 times more antioxidants than raw or roasted versions.
If you want to feel really Vietnamese, kick this up a notch by pairing these with some Heineken on ice.
Much like watermelon seeds, sunflower seeds, Pirate’s Booty or Cheetos (mmm, Cheetos)… this is a snack I could just eat nonstop. What kinda snacks are you addicted to?
Boiled Peanuts
Ingredients
- 2 pounds raw peanuts not the dehydrated type
- 2 ounces of salt
- 2 gallons of water
Instructions
- Soak peanuts in water for 15 minutes to loosen dirt, rinse and drain
- Add peanuts and salt to boiling water
- Keep a low-medium boil for 1 hour, checking for doneness every 20-30 minutes. It should have some bite and be soft, but not mushy. It can take 1-4 hours depending on age of the peanuts.
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Yess I love boiled peanuts! When they hit that perfect texture… mmm addicting. My mom is Vietnamese, but she had no idea that boiled peanuts were a thing in the South too! If only they were more popular 🙂
Yep they’re a great snack! Isn’t it fun to find out origins of food? I had no idea either, but knew there had to be some ties with the rise of crawfish hehe. Thanks for stopping by!
i’ve always seen boiled peanuts but never tried them! definitely on my to eat list right now.. they look delicious!
They’re nothing to be afraid of, definitely try em next time! haha
Hi Huy,
Congrats for the blog, I already did your recipe of Bún Thịt Nướng and was a great success.
Here in Brazil, the boiled peanuts are traditional in some areas.
There`s a lot in common between Brazilian and Vietnamese culinary, since the tropical ingredients to the french influence. Your blog are helping in discovery this new flavors. Thanks!
Hey Apoena, good to hear the recipe turned out well for you! I had no idea theres similarities between Brazilian and Vietnamese cuisine but will definitely have a look into that. Thanks again for commenting & sharing 🙂
I’m glad you’re back to the food blogging world. I love your recipes and photography.
Thank you Tracy, that is very kind of you and much appreciated 🙂
Hi Huy,
Can I use the images and provide the credit backlink to your site?
Thanks,
congrats for all the recipes!!! they look amazing 🙂
How long would the peanuts last once they are boiled and what’s the best way to keep them?
I grew up in Louisiana eating boiled peanuts and love them. I now live in Seattle and can buy them at a local Japanese grocery chain. These are spiced with Asian spices, but I like them in any form or fashion. I was buying them 1 day, and the check out person was of European descent. She looked at my packages like I had snake or perhaps live crawling Klingon food. She asked what you do with them. I pointed out that this was a grocery store, so you might assume that they are food to be eaten and that they are delicious. The Asian woman behind me cracked up and agreed. Thanks for your blog Huy. We really love your food having learned Vietnamese food in Houston in the 80s.
Burn LOL: “pointed out this was a grocery store.” Thanks for sharing this story Lindy! Yeah I often question ‘what is this’ in other types of grocery stores and I actually love the feeling of knowing there are whole other worlds of food out there to explore. 🙂