What it is
Peanut soup (花生湯, huāshēng tāng) is skinned peanuts cooked slowly in sugared water until they are soft and the liquid turns white. The nuts stay whole but are fine and creamy to bite. Old sweet soup shops serve it hot, and canned versions, often sold as 花生仁湯 ("peanut kernel soup"), are a common shop-bought drink.
How it is made
In Xiamen, which shares the dish, cooks soak the peanuts in boiled water and peel off the red skins. The nuts go into a pressure cooker, then sugar is added and cooking continues until they are completely soft. In Taipei's Wanhua district, older shops simmer theirs slowly over low heat until the soup is snowy white and the peanuts fine and smooth. Some cook each bowl to order.
How to eat it
It is eaten as a snack or after a meal. Taipei shops pair it with small glutinous rice balls (湯圓), sesame-filled tangyuan, or puffed biscuit (泡餅) that softens in the soup. In Xiamen fried dough sticks (油條) come alongside. Households also buy it for festivals and temple offerings (拜拜).
Around Taiwan
- North
- Wanhua (萬華) in Taipei keeps a cluster of old sweet soup shops serving peanut soup. Longdu (龍都冰菓專業家) is billed as a century old. A Cai Ma (阿猜嬤甜湯) on Huaxi Street opened in 1965 and is known for peanut soup with puffed biscuit.
