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I don't like peanuts (yeah, heathen, I know), but I love me some boiled peanuts. I like 'em like I like my pintos---soft and so salty they make your mouth hurt if you eat too many. I like them cold, too. MIL says that green peanuts are the best for boiling, but we've done it with regular raw peanuts as well. Doesn't work quite as good, takes a little longer, but satifsies when you have a hankering for boiled peanuts sometime other than September (when we tend to see the green ones in NC).

Yes, if they say they are raw (and they will, plus they won't say anything about being roasted or salted or whatever). They're moisture content will be relatively low, though, so you'll need to cook them longer. And in Atlanta, at least, you don't have to go somewhere fancy to find raw peanuts, as grocery stores stock them routinely.

You can make boiled peanuts from any raw, in-shell peanuts. But they are traditionally made in the early fall, when the peanut crop has just come in. So if you buy your boiled peanuts from somebody who actually grows them (or has easy access to them) you'll likely get the new version, at least in the early fall. The mature raw peanuts give a much more uniform final product, whereas as the new peanuts will include all sorts of little mutant forms that will have been culled from packaged fully mature ones. I like both, and the really baby ones will have a thick sort of spongy shell that's not particularly well-separated from the nut itself. They seem to have a "greener" flavor as well. By the way, if you can't cook boiled peanuts you can't cook, period. And the idea of eating canned boiled peanuts is simply beyond, well, beyond something. If you are that desperate let me know and I will come to your house and cook them for you, okay? Here's my recipe: Get peanuts, water, salt, and a slow cooker (you can do it on the stovetop but you have to keep adding water as it boils off; you can leave it overnight in the slow cooker). No sugar. Put the peanuts in the slow cooker and add enough water to cover (the peanuts will float, so the water won't really cover them, but you know what I mean). Add salt until the water tastes salty. I have no idea how much salt this is; depends on how much water you add, I guess. Cook them until they are done. This will vary a lot depending on how mature the peanuts are, etc. They are done you find that the shell has been soaked and there's salty water inside and the peanuts are soft. How soft? No crunchiness left, but not falling apart (though some people like them fallling apart). If you find that they are too salty you can pour off the salty water and replace with fresh; the salt will equilibrate pretty rapidly with a bit more cooking. If you have undersalted them you will hopefully have figured it out before they're fully cooked and corrected the water. Undersalted boiled peanuts are completely useless. Do not attempt boiled peanuts unless you are willing to eat salt. I store them undrained in the slow cooker in the fridge, scooping them out for microwave heating as necessary.

If you are looking for Capt. Fresh, the store changed owners. It has a similar inventory and a new name which I don't remember. They also carry some interesting aisian items as well as produce such as fresh raw peanuts. I have also seen durian there.

okay here's a question i have.... the boiled peanuts i eat seem to be mature, ones that come in the netbags. the raw peanuts i see in the farmers market are soft, tender, and little baby peanuts with dirt still on them. i've fad the "new penauts" boiled, and it tastes nothing like the mature peanut boiled. am i missing soemthing? are the mature penauts in net bags considered raw as well?

These are absolutely my favorite thing in the world! The first time I had roasted chestnuts in NYC, they reminded me of boiled peanuts. You have to have raw peanuts. They look soft -- right out of the ground. If you just get the raw 'unroasted' ones, they won't cook. I buy them by the sack at the farmers markets here and use my largest stockpot! This is the recipe we use -- Boiled Peanuts Boiled peanuts are one of my favorite treats. Did you know that there was a time when community “peanut boilings” were nearly as common as barbecues and fish-fries in the Deep South? True. MoMo makes us boiled peanuts all of the time, and they are delicious. I hope you enjoy these as well. 3 pounds raw peanuts in shells 1 gallon water ½ cup salt 2 tablespoons sugar Rinse peanuts very thoroughly in several changes of water making sure they are clean. Pour water into 6-quart stockpot, and stir in salt and sugar. Add peanuts; cover lightly, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil peanuts 2 to 4 hours, depending on size of nuts. After 2 hours cooking time, check peanuts periodically for doneness. Add additional boiling water, if needed, but do not add extra salt. When peanuts are done, remove from heat and allow to cool in cooking water to absorb salt, 45 minutes to 1 hour or longer, depending on taste. Drain peanuts, but do not rinse or refrigerate. [2002]

Ask and you shall receive: http://www.boiledpeanuts.com/. If you get some raw peanuts, boiling them is a snap. Just make sure your water is salty enough! I consider them American edamame. Cold boiled peanuts can be quite nasty, but when they're warm and fresh -- YUM. Oh, you pronounce it "BAWLED" peanuts. Have fun.

So I came home today from work and... WHAT IS THAT SMELL? Mrs Laksa has been following this blog too, and she's, as usual, one step ahead of me. Here's what I caught her doing: Snipping heads off dried achovies. Boy, these little fishies are rather pungent. It's all gonna be worth it though when we fry them up. Actually, you can buy these already de-headed (be-headed?). In case you haven't already noticed, this blog may not be to your liking if you're a tad squemish. Ok, if there are enough complaints, I will stop with the gross pictures. Truth be told, I get a perverse kick out of grossing people out. I have kickboxing class three nights a week. Before class, I usually eat a little snack to stave off the hunger pangs until dinnertime. Today's snack is boiled peanuts. These were raw peanuts boiled for something like 3 hours in salted water, until they are nice and mushy. Boiled nuts are pretty common in Malaysia, and I hear, also appreciated in the South. Gotta rush to my class now.

After my kickboxing class today, I am too beat to cook much of anything. Some chicken curry from the freezer looks great, but I need some rice to go with that. Since I'm cooking rice, I might as well make it Nasi Lemak. For that I'll need some jasmine rice, coconut milk, and some pandan essence. I also slice some ginger and shallots for the rice. One can of coconut milk should go with about 3 rice cups of rice. Add salt, and enough water to get the right amount of liquid for 3 cups of rice. Since I'm having Nasi Lemak rice, I might as well have some anchovies and peanuts to go with it. Boy, I'm creating a lot of work for myself with all my "might-as-well's". Deep fry the anchovies Ms Congee had beheaded in hot peanut oil. I take them out as soon as they start to turn golden. Roast raw peanuts in a hot pan with oil and salt until they start to take on a darker hue. You do not want to over-roast peanuts as they will turn bitter. After the peanuts are done, turn down the heat and add the achovies. Sprinkle liberally with sugar and chili powder. Add more salt if needed. Here's the finished product. FunJohnny, this picture is for you! I didn't cook curry today, but these were some of the ingredients we used to cook the curry last week. The black blob is tamarind and there's cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves and cardamon pods in the clear plastic packet. If you squint, you can see that the curry powder comes from Syarikat Jaya Sakti Flour Mill. Curry powder from a flour mill? Something just doesn't sit quite right there. Let's take a look at the list of ingredients: Hmm... rice and flour used as a thickening agent!? I'm not sure what to think about that. We actually used a different curry powder last week. This pack of curry powder is brand new so we'll find out how good (or bad) it is next time we make curry. Nasi Lemak with chicken curry and fried achovies and peanuts.

I am a nut freak. I really love raw almonds, where the outer hull is still green and the skins are white and you peel them right off. That's my favorite and comes but once a year. Raw peanuts are good too. I'm a sucker for salty nuts too, particularly pistachios, cashews and pecans. I'm slightly allergic to walnuts however, they make the roof of my mouth all tingly and then it swells up a bit, but I don't mind cuz I find walnuts bitter anyway. In cyprus when i was growing up we always had these very hard, salty crunchy dried up chickpeas. I didn't realize until i was older that they are not nuts, but they might as well be. They are delicious, and I always smuggle a ton when i come back from a visit.

I have yet to come across a nut I didn't like. My absolute favourite for eating on their own are pecans, cashews and almonds. Not so keen on raw peanuts, but I like them roasted. Suman

Inspired by Laksa's blog and also one of Russ Parson's articles in the LA Times this week: Clockwise starting with the herbs: parsley, cilantro, Thai eggplants, daikon, burdock root (labelled as “gobo” at the market), loofah squash, bitter melon 1, bitter melon 2, jalapenos, and–on the plate in the middle–raw peanuts. I have no idea what I'm going to do with these but I plan on having fun!!!

I think I am going to like this recipe as I prefer crustaceans to be lightly spiced and not drowned in curries. I'll make an exception for fish. A few months ago, I made lobster, Thermidor style in a light sauce of coconut milk, red chillis, shredded ginger dotted with curry leaf pesto(for want of a better word). To make the pesto I saute the leaves and coarsely grind them with some roasted almonds and raw peanut oil. Machrobrachium rosenbergii can be made the same way too. I reluctantly confess that I am not much into roe. Hoohaw! Gautam, and I thought you are a plant man. I've also never much cared about the ever popular pomfret, but that may be because I like to swim against the tide. The rains are coming to a close here and I am looking forward to cooking some new species of fish. If I can get away I am going to spend a few days camping at a River bank and hopefully land some Great Mahseer.

You can use almost anything for the filling as long as it is not too loose or liquidy. Jams and preserves work great. I almost always sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or sugar in the raw. Peanut Butter- I spread a thin layer of peanut butter first (thin!) or it will overpower the dough and any other flavor. Make sure you use good quality chocolates or chips. Peanut Butter & Jelly- self explainatory Raspberry White Chocolate- raspberry preserve , grated white chocolate (or finely chopped) then a sprinkly of coarsley chopped almonds Double Chocolate- make cocoa flavored dough, spread ganache then sprink with a mixture of cinnamon sugar and chocolate cake crumbs. Roll, brush top with egg white then sprinkle with granulated sugar I have made grated apple and ginger preserve, good but only if you like ginger. You can try fig jam.................. Anybody else have any ideas?

Hosted the more-or-less-monthly get-together of a bunch of friends from high school: Congee (plain, just rice/water/S&P) with: - Dried fish with satay flavor (from Aji Ichiban) - Fried Dace (canned) - Fish Balls - Julienned boiled ham - Raw peanuts - "Sweet and Spicy Tofu" - Sauteed sliced fresh waterchestnuts - Stir-fried choy (not sure what kind) - Raw watercress - "Sour Mustard" - Julienned ginger - Cilantro - Scallions - "Fried Red Onions" - Soy sauce - Chili Garlic sauce - Sesame oil - Black vinegar - Rice wine vinegar - Oyster sauce - Fish sauce - Shichimi (togarishi) and sansho and dessert: "Paradise" cake (passionfruit mousse on a sponge base with ladyfingers and fresh fruit topping; bought) and baklava (still from the potluck!)

The only thing I've ever seen on this subject was in Sichuan Cookery by Fuschia Dunlop. She describes how to dry-roast peanuts in a wok by filling the wok with salt and raw peanuts in their pink skins, and stirring the whole mix over heat until the skins have flaked off and the nuts are roasted. How that will help you super-salt your pistachios in brine, I don't know. But that's all I can offer. Miss J

Raw peanut butter is made from unroasted peanuts.

I ate a lot of hippie health food. The worst was a pumpkin seaweed soup. Yech. Also raw peanut butter. Super yech. I started cooking pretty young!

Trio has been throwing around the idea of eliminating bread service for some time now. We currently serve three rolls, a sour dough, a country white, and a toasted farro sour, all of which we produce onsite and all of which I feel are good, but not in line with the cuisine in terms of inventiveness. And more importantly I challenge the fuction of the bread itself within scope of the food at Trio. Bread rarely compliments the dishes except on rare occasions. The bread service itself has been elevated due to the variety, freshness, and condiments (fresh vermont butter) but I feel it is time to move on, for the sake of the food, the experience , and the movement. So, how do you all feel about bread? Is it expected when dinning? Does the history of bread require it to be present at every meal? Is it habit? Why do you eat bread at a restaurant? Satiation? Boredom? Again, habit? What makes good bread service? What meals have you consumed without bread? After much conversation we have come up with what we think is a good replacement to bread service. Something that will facilitate satiation, combat boredom, sooth habit, and add a layer of complexity to the dinning experience. Each course will be served with a snack intended to mimic the flavors present in the dish. This snack will be left on the table while the diner waits for the next course. The idea is the snack will echo the flavors of the previous course. It would be removed just before the next course arrived. Let me give an example. Our current 4 course menu reads ... Chilled English Pea Soup eucalyptus ice cube, preserved lemon, melon with this course we would serve each guest a small bowl of crunchy eucalyptus peas to enjoy with and after they consume their soup. Wild Striped Bass bee balm, summer squashes, garlic with this course thin wafers of sweet garlic Puffed and Poached Elysian Fields Farm Lamb raw peanuts, sasafrass aroma with this course a savory sasafrass scented peanut brittle the same format would be followed with the tasting and the tour menu options. It seems like another avenue for creativity and the layering of complexity to the experinece. Any thoughts?

Ting ting jahe rules! My challenge is to find snacks that my 3 teens (and the basically live-in boyfriend of my daughter while they're home from college) won't eat. Wasabi peas are better than croutons in a green salad. Mexican snack from Barbara Kennedy (?): Raw peanuts and garlic cloves fried in oil with chile powder and salt. Watch to ensure the chile powder doesn't burn. Excellent to build a thirst. Hot stuff story: Went to a drinking-in-the-afternoon party several years ago. I was running a grill next to a woman who was drunker than me (stranger things have happened). Anyway - I had brought along a selection of my favorites, and they were brutal. I had taken the precaution of marking the bottles with skulls and crossbones..... So, of course, the really drunk guy says he can take anything..... Luckily, the really drunk female grillcook kept the really-drunk-and-now-pissed-off-at-the-guy-who-brought-those-sauces from beating up the drunk male grillcook..... Saved! Hallelujah!