Gado Gado
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‘Gado Gado’ literally meaning “mix mixâ€, is an Indonesian salad of mixed vegetables with a peanut dressing. It is also a popular street food in Indonesia. Tasting deliciously with the correct blend of sweetness and tanginess, Gado Gado is not only a salad but a wholesome meal by itself. Loaded with the goodness of fresh veggies like cabbage, French beans, carrot, cauliflower, potato, cucumber, spinach and bean sprouts, it has protein and carbohydrate sources also as it is served with fried tofu, tempeh and lontong. The non-vegetarian version of Gado Gado has shrimp crackers, boiled eggs and inclusion of shrimp paste in the peanut dressing. Here, I have given a 100% vegetarian Gado Gado recipe that has veggies like cabbage, French beans, carrot, cauliflower, spinach, potato, cucumber, bean sprouts and fried tofu. I have not included tempeh (fermented soya beans cake) and lontong (rice cakes) as I wanted to keep it simple and light just as a salad. As per the authentic method, to enhance the flavor of the sauce I have pounded the roasted peanuts, shallots and garlic in mortar and pestle.
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Ingredients
- French Beans- 1/2 cup cut lengthwise
- Cabbage- 1/2 cup shredded
- Carrot- 1/2 cup cut lengthwise
- Cauliflower florets- 1/2 cup
- Potato- 1/2 cup cut lengthwise and soaked in water
- Cucumber- 1/2 cup cut lengthwise
- Bean sprouts- 1/2 cup
- Spinach- 10 to 15 baby leaves
- Tofu- 100 gms cut lengthwise
- For Peanut Sauce
- Peanut- 1/2 cup
- Garlic- 3 or 4 cloves peeled
- Shallots- 4 or 5 peeled
- red chilly powder- 1 tsp
- Brown Sugar or Palm Sugar- 1 tsp
- Salt
- Tamarind Paste- 1 tbsp
- Vegetable Oil- 2 tbsp and 1 tsp
- Water- 1 ½ cups approximately
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Instructions
- Wash and chop the veggies as mentioned above. I have used the whole baby spinach leaves as such…If you are using large spinach leaves, torn them into pieces.
- Blanch French beans, carrots, cauliflower florets, shredded cabbage, bean sprouts and spinach separately with little bit of salt.
- Dip them in cold water for few minutes and strain the excess water. The veggies should be crisp, firm and not soft.
- Boil the potatoes till they are cooked well but firm. Strain the excess water. Cucumber can be used raw. Refrigerate the veggies till we use them in salad.
- Make slurry of 1 tsp of corn flour, 3 tbsp of water, salt and pepper to taste. Dip tofu pieces in this slurry and pan fry/roast them on all the sides.
- You can also roast plain tofu without using corn flour paste…my family doesn’t like to have plain fried tofu. So, I follow this method to make tofu more interesting.
- To prepare peanut sauce: Heat 1 tsp of oil in a kadai and roast peanuts till they turn golden. Using a mortar and pestle, pound roasted peanuts into a coarse powder. Keep it aside. Now, pound the shallots and garlic cloves coarsely.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil, add pounded shallots and garlic. Sauté till nice aroma emits. Add red chilly powder, salt, palm sugar and sauté for a second. Add the given amount of water followed by the tamarind paste. Mix well and bring it to boil.
- Stir the pounded peanut powder into the sauce. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Switch off the flame and let it cool.
- Before serving, arrange the vegetables and fried tofu in a serving platter. Pour the peanut sauce in the middle and serve. You can also serve it like a finger salad with peanut sauce in a bowl.
Notes
- Peanuts, shallots and garlic can also be blended in a mixer but the flavor and taste obtained doesn’t match the pounded version. Shallots can be substituted with small sized onions. Peanut oil can be used in place of vegetable oil. Crackers of any flavour, roasted garlic or shallots can be used for garnishing.
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Shyamala Kumar
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Congratulations Shyamala, Your recipe has been appreciated by Judge chef Reetu Uday Kugaji for “Salad Recipe Theme of the week”. Here is what she has to say about your recipe – Also known as Lotek, an Indonesian salad. Indeed a burst of flavors. The combination of Ingredients is absolutely fantastic!!!!!! A must try.