Not just a American South thing. There's an old school Chinese snack of braising peanuts in soy sauce, sesame oil, some spices, and a small amount of sugar to m

Not just a American South thing. There's an old school Chinese snack of braising peanuts in soy sauce, sesame oil, some spices, and a small amount of sugar to make it both fragrant and quite tasty. I think Chinese style though is to shell the peanuts first before cooking for convenience of the person eating them, but I've seen some folks cook them in the shell as well.