Gado Gado with Peanut Sauce

Gado Gado is a traditional Indonesian salad made of a medley of cooked or raw vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, fried tofu, all brought together with a rich peanut sauce. The name literally translates to "mix-mix".

Connie ClarksonFounder and project manager at The Kitchen Project
  • prepare
  • cook
  • 4 servings
  • Easy
Gado Gado with Peanut Sauce.
Caption:Gado Gado with Peanut Sauce.Photo credit:Supplied

Gado Gado is a versatile dish, use any combination of vegetables – waxy potatoes, kumara, beans or asparagus. It's great for leftovers. You can use the sauce as a dip with crudites or on BBQ meat as a satay.

If your sauce is too thick, add a small amount of water and always give it a try before you remove from the heat, so you can add salt or coconut sugar to match your tastebuds.

Serve gado-gado sauce while it is still warm. Warm up the sauce if it is cold.

Ingredients

  • Blanched/steamed vegetables
  • 1/2 cabbage cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 large head broccoli cut into flowerets (you can peel and use the fleshy parts of the stalk as well)
  • 200g potatoes – something nice and waxy, scrubbed peeled and cut into wedges
  • 4 medium carrots, scrubbed and cut into slices
  • Condiments
  • 1 hardboiled egg per person, halved
  • 2 cakes firm tofu – cut into strips and lightly fried till golden, drain on grease proof paper
  • Shrimp crackers
  • Peanut sauce (makes approx. 800 ml sauce)
  • 100g shallots
  • 30g garlic
  • 2 stalks lemongrass (or 2tbsp lemongrass paste)
  • 2 tbsp chili paste (or if available, 2 medium fresh chilis – remove pith and seed if you like a mild sauce)
  • 4 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • 250ml coconut milk
  • 1 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 200ml water

Instructions

  1. Bring a medium pot of water to the boil, add cabbage pieces and blanch till just wilted, remove from water and set aside.
  2. Similarly, cook broccoli, potatoes and carrots till just done, drain and set aside.
  3. Peel and cut cucumber into slices.
  4. For the sauce: Place shallots, garlic, lemon grass and chili paste into a spice blender, food processor or mortar and pestle and process till very fine.
  5. Heat oil in a heavy bottom skillet till it shimmers.
  6. Add the prepared spice paste and fry gently on a medium to low heat, stirring all the time to prevent burning.
  7. Fry till it’s very fragrant and you see red oil gathering around the edges.
  8. Take the skillet off the heat.
  9. Put peanut butter and water in a medium pot and add the fried spice paste to the peanut mixture and stir till combined.
  10. Add the salt, sugar, lime juice and coconut milk and stir well.
  11. Bring slowly to the boil over low heat and stirring constantly, cook for 10 minute or until sugar dissolved. Take off the heat, put into a serving bowl and cool.
  12. To serve: Place all vegetables on a platter. Either keep sauce in a bowl on the side, or pour the warm sauce over, garnish with shrimp crackers.

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