Taiwan’s One-of-a-Kind Sound: Grandma Sun-Drying Peanuts in Penghu

Text and photos /“Obailai Travel Observation Diary”by Tsai Fa-da

The grandma picks up peanuts with both hands, sorting through them to make sure they dry evenly.

“Peanuts used to play a very important role for us people in Penghu. ‘Luzaimou’ (in the Penghu dialect of Taiwanese, ‘you’ is pronounced something like lu-san?),” she says as she flips over the peanuts.

“Isn’t it just for eating? What can you do with peanuts? Why are they so important?” I asked back, thinking to myself (they’re everywhere on Taiwan proper, even as a side dish with meals, but they give you acne and are so greasy—I don’t like them).”

Grandma: “Back then we didn’t have oil. The oil we used for cooking here used to be ‘imported’ from Taiwan—it was expensive. When you stir-fry peanuts, they produce a lot of oil. For us, their value as a source of oil was greater than their function as something to ‘eat.’” Me: “Ah… I never thought about that before…”

Grandma: “Hey now, you city folks, because things here aren’t so convenient. So when you go out to eat, take a look—you’ll notice a lot of dishes have peanuts stir-fried in them. These days oil isn’t as hard to come by as it used to be, but over time everyone’s gotten used to it; without peanuts, it feels like something’s missing.”

Grandma’s talk about cooking with peanuts was immediately reflected in that day’s lunch. As I looked at the dishes on the table, taste became secondary. Instead, I found myself savoring this local Penghu story with genuine appreciation.

When we have abundance, our gratitude for things that are “hard-earned” gradually fades. “Excess often comes with its own kind of scarcity.”

Every place has its own unique way of life. Have you also heard the one-of-a-kind sounds from different places?