Japanese-style peanuts, also known as Japanese peanuts or cracker nuts (widely known in the Spanish-speaking world as cacahuates japoneses or maní japonés), are a type of snack food made from peanuts that are coated in a wheat flour dough and then fried or deep-fried. They come in a variety of different flavors. The Mexican version's recipe for the extra-crunchy shell has ingredients such as wheat flour, soy sauce, water, sugar, monosodium glutamate, and citric acid. The snacks are often sold in sealed bags, but can also be found in bulk containers

History

Japanese-style peanuts were created in Mexico during the 1940s by Japanese immigrant Yoshihei Nakatani, the father of Yoshio and Carlos Nakatani. He lost his job after the mother-of-pearl button factory he worked at, named El Nuevo Japón, was forced to close after its proprietor came under suspicion of being a spy for the Empire of Japan.

Nakatani had to find alternatives to provide for his family. He obtained a job at La Merced Market, where he initially sold Mexican candies called muéganos [es]. Later, he developed a new variety of fried snacks he named oranda that he named after the like-named fish. He also created a new version of a snack that reminded him of his homeland, mamekashi (seeds covered with a layer of flour with spices), that he adapted to Mexican tastes. Nakatani sold them in packages decorated with a geisha design made by his daughter Elvia. While his children tended to the family business, Nakatani and his wife Emma sold the snacks on local streets. Sales of the snacks were so successful that Nakatani was able to obtain his own stall at the market. With the help of Nakatani's son Armando, the family established their business under the brand Nipón in the 1950s; the name was registered as a trademark in 1977.

Nakatani never registered the patent for the snack. As a result, various competitors made their own versions of Japanese-style peanuts.

A Japanese version originated in Okinawa, called Takorina, has the image of a Mexican charro in the bag, and it is claimed to be called "Mexican-style peanuts", though the rumour has been disproven.

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  • SoylentSnake [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    9 days ago

    f I have her as a friend, there will be the temptation to tell her about my problems, which is wrong in my opinion. I think she has more important problems for herself to worry about than I do. I have a relatively privileged position in comparison.

    unsolicited advice, Soylent Edition: what you're describing is kinda just...what friendship is, when done reciprocally. and yeah, the losing interest over time dimension is an inherent risk of friendship or any other kind of intimacy and love. it sounds like a broader fear of closeness might be at play here? which is fair, intimacy brings with it the risk of being hurt and of hurting others and requires a leap of faith. but it's a leap worth taking, imo.

    • Red_Sunshine_Over_Florida [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      9 days ago

      Maybe I'll try it differently next time. I just kinda was afraid of trauma dumping with her like I did with this one guy I clicked with and later lost interest in me (to be fair, he told me first about plenty of his problems, which in my opinion, were worse than mine). That experience kinda made me wary of revealing too much about myself. So I rejected the offer of friendship because she included with it and offer to help me work on my social anxiety and other things. I felt that was putting too much on her.