Vietnam’s Peanut Taffy: A Timeless Treat

Unwrap peanut taffy, the sweetness of Vietnam.

Peanut Taffy

Between the 1980s and 1990s, a nostalgic scene etched itself into the memories of many Vietnamese children: the peanut taffy cart. These carts stood out from other street vendors because they were typically manned by young to middle-aged men; women were never seen running them. The reason? It took quite a bit of muscle to stretch and pull the sticky peanut taffy. 

These vendors often pedaled around on worn-out bicycles, toting a wooden box filled with taffy, some wrapping papers, and a handful of other items. A few of these carts even featured a homemade lottery game. After paying a small fee, kids got to take a spin on the wheel, and the number they landed on determined how many pieces of peanut taffy they won.

If the young patrons didn’t have cash, they weren’t out of luck. They could simply trade in items they no longer needed, like leaky iron pots, aluminum cans, or even worn-out plastic slippers, for some delicious candies. The vendors would then sell these collected items to scrap dealers, making a small profit. Meanwhile, the kids walked away delighted, with their hands full of sweet treats.

A pristine block of peanut taffy rests in the nylon bag, waiting for its moment. With a flourish, the vendor draws out a piece as long as an adult’s index finger. A swift tug, a crisp snap, and the taffy divides neatly, much to the delight of the wide-eyed children watching. Each piece, carefully wrapped at one end with a scrap of school notebook paper, finds its way into an eager hand.

Savoring peanut taffy is an art. You start by letting it linger in your mouth, partly because it’s quite firm and sweet. As you let it dissolve slowly, the candy thins and shrinks, leaving behind only the crunchy peanuts. The taffy’s unique sweetness, neither sugary nor malty, is a little mystery. Perhaps it’s the myriad of tiny air bubbles whipped into the mix that makes the sweetness so gentle and not overpowering.

Creating peanut taffy is a fascinating process. First, sugar, water, and malt are gently simmered together until they transform into a sticky, golden brown concoction. Once cooled, this mixture is then repeatedly stretched and whipped around a large hook attached to a solid pole. 

As it’s worked, the color shifts from a rich golden brown to a creamy white, and the candy expands smoothly. The final touch is the addition of fragrant, crispy roasted peanuts, which are enveloped by the soft taffy. A light dusting of roasted glutinous rice flour is used to coat the candy’s outside. This practical step ensures the taffy doesn’t adhere to tables or cling to the inside of bags, while also preserving its quality for a longer period.

Peanut taffy isn’t just a treat that kids chase after; it also takes on a charming form in little transparent plastic bags. In Hue, these bagged delights are known as “peanut taffy” (kẹo kéo đậu), while up North, they’re affectionately called “sausage taffy” (kẹo dồi). The resemblance of the candy’s elongated shape, stuffed with peanuts, to a sausage inspired its Northern nickname. Pairing a stick of this peanut taffy with a cup of steaming, aromatic tea is a cherished ritual in the North, especially during chilly winter months.

While peanut taffy in Central and Southern Vietnam was traditionally a children’s treat, it has sweetly woven its way into adult vernacular. To “talk as sweetly as peanut taffy” is to speak with such skill and tact that you never rub anyone the wrong way. In contrast, someone described as having a “taffy personality” is known to be tight-fisted; getting money from them is as tough as pulling taffy. 

The classic call of the peanut taffy vendor even had a catchy tune: “Taffy’s here! The more you pull, the longer it stretches; the more you chew, the sweeter it gets, as sweet as granulated sugar, as refreshing as rock sugar. Who’s up for some taffy?” These witty vendors have even spun a modern-day folk song:

“If your man’s left you feeling blue, 

Just munch on peanut taffy, it’ll reel him back to you.”

In Saigon’s vibrant streets, the traditional peanut taffy carts are now joined by a modern twist: carts equipped with mobile speakers. The vendors, often young men and sometimes women, trade the physical toil of pulling taffy for the art of song. Their audience? Not the children of yesteryears, but the adult patrons of the city’s numerous night-time pubs. The sweeter the serenade, the brisker the sales of the pre-pulled treats.

For many young country folks with a passion for music, peddling peanut taffy through song is a stepping stone – a chance to chase dreams in Saigon’s electric embrace. A lucky few find fame, their voices carrying them beyond the streets. Yet for most, this gig is but a fleeting chapter, a humble means to an end. It’s an honest hustle, though tinged with the transient nature of such trades in the city’s ever-turning wheel.

Turning back to our beloved taffy, its origins are a bit of a mystery. Yet, we do have a clue from the late 19th century. Huynh Tinh Cua noted in his book Đai Nam Quấc Âm Tự vị, “Kéo kẹo: pulling molasses to make candy” (Rey, Curiol & Cie. Publishing House, 1895, p. 472) This reference suggests that long before granulated sugar became common, the people of ancient Vietnam were already masters at crafting taffy from molasses.

Before peanut taffy became a hit, there were its ancestors: the “powder taffy” (kẹo bột) up North and the “pyramid taffy” (kẹo ú) in Central regions. These treats were crafted much like peanut taffy, sans the peanuts, but infused with a warm, spicy kick of ginger. 

The North dubbed it “powder taffy” because each piece was coated with glutinous rice flour, keeping your fingers clean as you indulged. In the Central areas, “pyramid taffy” was the name of choice, inspired by the candy’s pyramid-like shape upon slicing. Even French author Hilda Arnhold was charmed by these sweets, recalling in her 1944 book Tonkin – Scenery and Impression the “melodious song of a candy boy peddling sesame candy and powder taffy”. (Kim Dong Publishing House 2022, p. 111)

Peanut taffy isn’t alone in delighting the sweet tooths of Vietnam; it has a well-traveled companion: thread taffy (kẹo chỉ). This confection, known as dragon beard candy in its birthplace, has charmed taste buds from Hong Kong to Taiwan, and beyond to Singapore, Korea, the US, and Canada. Its creation involves melting sugar into a syrup, then pulling it into countless slender strands, each lightly coated with glutinous rice flour or cornstarch.

Upon arriving in Vietnam, this worldly treat adopted the simpler moniker of thread taffy. It’s enjoyed in a uniquely Vietnamese way: delicate threads nestled in rice paper alongside grated coconut, condensed milk, sesame, and peanuts. The result is a symphony of flavors – lightly sweet, richly fatty, and satisfyingly nutty, all wrapped in the contrasting textures of crisp and chewy rice paper.

Thread taffy isn’t just ivory-white; sometimes, it’s tinged with a blush of pink or it takes on the verdant hue of pandan. You’ll find the thread taffy cart surrounded by eager young faces during school breaks, all mesmerized by the vendor’s swift hands weaving magic into thousands of fine threads. It’s a taste that may linger in their memories, much like peanut taffy does for the older generations.

Wedge Taffy from Hue

Hue is adorned with tranquil villages, as picturesque as verses from a poem, lined with the graceful silhouettes of areca palms. It’s perhaps this intimacy with areca nuts that inspired Hue’s unique creation kẹo cau, or areca candy. Yet, this candy doesn’t contain a trace of areca nuts, which is why “wedge taffy” feels like a more fitting translation.

Wedge taffy is a visual and culinary delight, boasting a lustrous golden core encased in a pristine white exterior. Each piece mirrors the form of an areca nut’s wedge, presenting an even more captivating version than the nut itself. The interior is a harmonious blend of sweetness and a subtle ginger zing, mellowed by the candy’s delicate outer layer. 

To truly appreciate wedge taffy, one must savor it in the traditional Hue manner: resist the urge to chew, and instead, let it slowly melt away, releasing its refreshing sweetness throughout your palate.

Wedge taffy shares its making process with peanut taffy, but with a twist: instead of peanuts, a portion of the sugar mixture becomes the filling. While peanut taffy takes the form of elongated sticks, wedge taffy is crafted into bite-sized pieces that are tumbled in a basket until they achieve a perfect roundness. These spherical sweets are then carefully cut into charming wedges. Simple in its creation, yet wedge taffy retains its delectable taste for up to a month when stored in a dry environment.

Peanut taffy and wedge taffy, Vietnam’s delightful confections, stand out for their natural simplicity and lack of artificial additives. Yet, these wholesome treats have quietly drifted from the limelight, overshadowed by modern sweets. This shift away from the traditional is more than a change in taste; it’s a loss of connection to the artisanal roots that make these candies so special. 

In an era where “natural” and “organic” are valued more than ever, there’s an irony in the fading of peanut and wedge taffy. It’s a heartfelt wish that these pure, preservative-free delights will once again find their place in the hearts and hands of the young and old alike, rekindling the joy and simplicity of yesteryear.

mlefood – Minh Lê