Gado-gado, Indonesian Traditional Salad - Gado-gado is one of Indonesian's most popular traditional dishes, often referred to as salad but more accurately described as a mixed vegetable dish.
Gado-gado is a flavorful and nutritious dish that showcases the rich diversity of Indonesian culinary traditions.
Gado-gado (traditional salad) typically consists of mixed vegetables, such as green beans, bean sprouts, spinach and cabbage.
It also incorporates proteins like tofu and tempeh (fermented soybean cake) including potatoes. Hard boiled eggs are a common addition.
Sometimes, people also add lontong (compressed rice cake) or ketupat (rice cakes is woven palm leaf pouches).
The hallmark of gado-gado is its creamy peanut sauce, which is rich savory and slightly sweet.
The sauce is made from ground roasted peanuts, garlic, shallot, chilli peppers, tamarind, palm sugar, and coconut milk.
The sauce is then mixed water and simmered until it reaches the desired consistency.
While the core components of gado-gado remain fairly consistent, there can be regional and personal variations in the choice of vegetables and proteins.
Some versions include ingredients like boiled eggs, fried shallots, or fried tofu cubes.
How To Make Gado-Gado
Making Gado-Gado at home can be a delightful culinary adventure. Here's a simplified recipe for making Gado-Gado. Feel free to adjust the ingredients and proportions to suit your preferences:
Ingredients:
For the salad:
- 2 cups of mixed blanched or steamed vegetables (e.g., potatoes, green beans, bean sprouts, cabbage, spinach)
- 1 cup of firm tofu, cubed and fried
- 1 cup of tempeh, sliced and fried
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, halved
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- 1 small tomato, sliced
- 1 small bunch of water spinach (kangkung), blanched (substitute with spinach if unavailable)
- 1 cup of compressed rice cakes (lontong) or steamed white rice
- For the Peanut Sauce:
- 1 cup of roasted peanuts, finely ground
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 shallots, minced
- 2-3 red chili peppers, finely chopped (adjust to your desired level of spiciness)
- 2-3 tablespoons of tamarind paste or tamarind juice
- 2 tablespoons of palm sugar or brown sugar
- 1/2 cup of coconut milk
- Salt to taste
- Water (for thinning the sauce)
How to Serve
1. Prepare the Peanut Sauce:
- In a blender or food processor, combine the ground roasted peanuts, minced garlic, minced shallots, chopped chili peppers, tamarind paste or juice, and palm sugar.
- Blend the ingredients until you get a thick paste. If it's too thick, you can add a little water to thin it out.
- Transfer the peanut paste to a saucepan and heat it over low to medium heat.
- Stir in the coconut milk gradually, and continue to cook the sauce, stirring frequently until it thickens. Add more water if needed to reach your desired consistency.
- Season the sauce with salt to taste. Keep it warm on low heat while you prepare the salad.