Thai Lime & Chili Peanuts - Trader Joe's

[ciaobella]

Yum- these are good. Just bought a 16 oz. bag for $1.99 and it's satisfying my Tom Kha craving until I can get some this weekend.

Ingredients: peanuts, thai lime leaves, chile, spicy seasoning (lemon grass, lime powder, chilie powder, sugar), salt, canola oil, rice bran oil

[Full tummy]

I know, old thread. But, worth reviving, as the product is still available.

My hubby brought me back some lime & chili mixed nuts from Trader Joe's, and I LOVE them! (We live in Toronto, Canada.) A little does go a long way, but it is so reminiscent of a Thai curry. I love the dried lime leaves, so delicious. Definitely no bitter taste to them, but I can see how they wouldn't be for everyone.

[MisterBill2]

Ah.. I had forgotten about this thread. Yes, they now have the mixed nuts now but I'm not a big fan of cashews and they're much more expensive than the peanuts - $4.99 for a smaller bag. I was very happy with the Thai peanuts. They should have just brought them back. Obviously they found a source for the spice mixture.

What I did after finishing my first bag was to put some salted peanuts I had in the bag, so I reused the chili lime mixture.

[bklynbiker]

thanks good idea. i've been buying the mixed nuts, but i too somewhat resent paying the premium when i'm satisfied with, even prefer, the peanuts. i'll try using peanuts as filler though per your idea misterbill

[koknia]

I tried the cashews and they didn't work for me at all. I've lived in Thailand and love kaffir lime leaves, but the combination of that with too much chili was not one of Trader Joe's finer moment. I went looking for the chili lime pistachios, not realizing they had been discontinued.
As a Canadian I often route my US roadtrips through towns with TJs and I fill my trunk.

[givemecarbs]

Been smiling about your comment all day MisterBill. Very inventive. Way to think inside the bag!

[Colbrook]

Has anyone figured out a way to reverse engineer the Chili Lime Peanuts (other than reusing the spices in the bag, which is clever)? I incorporated them into a lot of my Southeast Asian recipes, and now there's a whole in my pantry. We have a kaffir lime tree, and grow Thai chilies, but I haven't tried duplicated the TJ recipe. I, too, miss the peanuts.

[MisterBill2]

So, TJ changed these again and it's now mixed nuts, still some cashews but with some almonds and peanuts (!) tossed in, but it's $5.49 (!!). I am eating it slowly and will reuse the mixture on peanuts when I'm done. Has anyone found another source for these, or for the spice mix? Isn't it a street food in Thailand?

I miss the $1.99 bags of peanuts!

[BuildingMyBento]

At least in Bangkok, I haven't noticed an equivalent snack sold on the streets. However, in Manila, there are garlic peanuts all over the place.

[MisterBill2]

I tried to buy some of these today (*I* like them, seems like most of the posters here don't) and they didn't have them. Asked a "crew member" and was told they were discontinued! I'm very upset!

[bklynbiker]

I'm with you misterbill, love them, and every i know does too -- in fact they're about the only snacking peanuts i really DO like -- for some reason the spices or roasting makes them more digestible for me. and now, gone! hoping like some TJ's products they'll come back at some point. As to the cashews, i was less fond of them. a few is fine, unlike regular cashews that i can really go to town on. the pistachios fell somewherein the middle. BRING BACK THE PEANUTS!!!

[MplsM ary]

I bought some based on this thread and uh, ick. The lime leaves tasted like slightly lime-y grass clippings and the peanuts themselves were not crunchy. More for y'all I guess.

No fair guessing how I know what grass clippings taste like.

[dinwiddie]

I occasionally buy the cashews, and like others say, a little goes a long way. I love snacking on them but have to be moderate both for my diet and my palate. Haven't tried the peanuts yet since I did not see them at my TJs.

[roberta schouten]

I think these are my very favorite snack food ever. I savor the peanuts and chow down on the cashews. I even eat the left over spices when the nuts are gone. I moved to Kansas, and there are no Trader Joes around here, so my sister sends me 5-6 bags every couple months. Once open, the cashews last two or three days then they are gone. Bliss!!!!!!

[swissgirl]

I keep a stash of these at work. Eat a little at a time and the bag lasts forever. TJ's is great for work snacks!

[RC51Mike]

Just stumbled across this thread. I immensely disliked them. spicy? lime? Thai? How can you go wrong but, something just not right about them to me. Acrid bitterness? I don't know. We had a house full of people at the time and not a single person liked them. The bag went out to the squirrels who likewise, even in the dead of winter, would not touch them. I'm not averse to new foods or tastes but those things drove me to write to TJ's. They said to return them for a refund but that bag was long gone.

[JK Grence the Cosmic Jester]

Trader Joe's is really good about returns... I've even heard stories where they have honored a refund on items that people throw away. Talk to the manager and you might be pleasantly surprised.

[orangewasabi]

wish I had known that about TJ's before . . . I too bought these peanuts thinking how you go wrong. they were vile,

[prunefeet]

I agree with lots of people here, I like them but a little goes a long way...HOWEVER you must try the new almonds with tamari and wasabi. I LOVE these!!

[howboy]

Now THEY sound delish....I didn't care for the chile/lime nuts.

[prunefeet]

I liked the chili lime nuts but they made me feel slightly ill for some reason. These almonds are really great and munchable.

[hollyeve]

The rosemary marcona almonds are even better!! They are perfect with a glass of wine!

[whs]

They taste like they've been dusted with green tea powder -- sort of bitter. I miss the garlic pistachios (discontinued).

[esolmom]

yes, yes! the garlic were the best!

[C. Hamster]

I thought they were horrible, myself. Powdered lime leaves and lemongrass leave me flat.

[MsMaryMc]

I like them well enough, but I like the Honey Sesame ones even better.

[King of Northern Blvd]

I really like these...But I do tire of the taste after awhile..I usually don't make it through the whole bag. I usually end up tossing the bag after awhile but when I see them at TJ's sometimes I realize it's time for another go...

[CrazyOne]

I bought the cashews, I think in exactly the same flavor. (In fact, at first I did a double-take at the price you mentioned, then I realized you said peanuts.) Maybe I'm wrong about the flavor, but it was close. (The bag is gone now so I can't look again for sure until I'm at the store again.) These were interesting, in a had to try them once, won't buy them again sort of way. Only used them for snacking, might have interesting uses for cooking I suppose.

[Neely_Ohara]

I just bought a bag of the cashews the other day. They're good, but as in "a little goes a long way." I find myself snacking on just small portions, rather than the way I usually dig in with cashews or peanuts!

Interesting idea about trying to incorporate these into some recipes.....Might try that.

[Mel]

i bought the cashew bag because of one of the demonstration/tastings that they did at the store where they combined the cashews with chicken, mardarin oranges and a curry type sauce. it was really good and the nuts added the best spice to them. I have also incorporated them in some thai inspired dishes.

[lyn]

I kind of like them, but I use them in Asian/Thai cooking rather than snacking. I seem to think they a very good, yet I have a bag going stale in my pantry

[JMF]

Personally I didn't like them at all. Tasted a few and chucked the rest.