Peanuts in Indonesia

Peanuts in Indonesia are called kacang tanah and everybody eats them – steamed, boiled, grilled on hot sand ­or ground up and used as a key ingredient in dishes, such as gado gado, pecel or Indonesian’s famous satay sauces. Deep fried peanuts are a very common garnish or condiment. Check out some local peanut-based recipes.

Peanut eating in Indonesia is a highly social activity. At dusk in the villages it’s common to see groups of people sitting on the roadside eating peanuts while singing to a guitar or just chatting.

Indonesian’s are soccer nuts. It’s our national sport. Peanut hawkers abound at matches and the stadiums are littered with peanut shells afterwards. Even if watching soccer on TV no crowd is prepared unless there’s a huge bowl of peanuts at hand.

In traditional markets peanuts are sold steamed or boiled in their shells with a bit of salt for flavor.

Kacang rebus (boiled peanuts) or kacang kukus (steamed peanuts) are bought for snacks and special occasions. When you buy kacang kukus they are will often be still attached to the peanut roots. 

Every child’s birthday must have peanuts. In fact at any important ceremony peanuts will be served to guests. People will eat peanuts with their coffee or tea and it is common to see them served at meetings in government offices.