-
1
Drain the overnight-soaked peanuts and rinse under cold water. Place in a heavy pot with 1.5 litres of cold water. Bring to the barest simmer over medium heat, then reduce immediately to low — the surface should tremble, not boil. The water is ready when the first lazy bubbles break the surface and steam rises freely.
-
2
Maintain this barely-there simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 4 hours. Do not allow a rolling boil at any point: a rapid boil will cause the peanuts to either remain hard or disintegrate, destroying the cotton-soft-yet-intact ideal that defines this soup. At the 3-hour mark, press a peanut between thumb and forefinger — it must yield completely and feel as though it will dissolve, while still holding its shape. If resistance remains, continue simmering and test again at 20-minute intervals. This step is where the dish lives or dies.
-
3
Once the peanuts are cotton-soft and the broth has turned creamy-pale and thickened visibly from the released peanut starch, add the rock sugar. Stir gently until fully dissolved. Simmer a further 30 minutes. The broth should coat the back of a spoon; if it runs off thinly, continue simmering until the correct body is reached.
-
4
Ladle into warmed bowls, distributing peanuts and broth evenly. Taste: the soup should be gently sweet, milky, and deeply fragrant of raw peanut — not of roast. Each peanut, pressed against the palate, dissolves at once.