**Gado-gado: A Flavorful Indonesian Salad with Peanut Dressing**
Gado-gado is a vibrant and flavorful Indonesian salad dish that combines fresh vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, fried tofu, and tempeh, all smothered in a rich and savory peanut sauce. Originating from Jakarta, Indonesia, gado-gado is a beloved dish enjoyed throughout the country and beyond. The peanut sauce, made with a combination of roasted peanuts, tamarind, palm sugar, and various spices, is the star of the show, bringing a unique and irresistible taste to the salad. This article provides two variations of the gado-gado recipe: a traditional version and a vegan version that uses almond butter instead of peanuts. Additionally, it includes a recipe for the peanut sauce, ensuring you have everything you need to create this delicious and authentic Indonesian dish.
GADO-GADO
Gado-gado is a beloved dish across Indonesia. Each region has a different spin: In Jakarta, it is a "double-carb" dish, featuring both potato and lontong (rice cakes). In West Java, it is known as lotek atah or karedok and served with raw vegetables. At the heart of any gado-gado is the spicy peanut sauce: Some versions call for tamarind, lime, terasi (shrimp paste) or coconut milk. Others use peanut butter instead of freshly pounded peanuts. This particular recipe is inspired by a home-cooked gado-gado eaten in Bali, where the rich, aromatic sauce was powered by shallots and garlic. Its sweetness comes from kecap manis, the thick, caramelly soy sauce foundational in Indonesian cooking, but, if you can't find kecap manis, make your own (see Tip) or use sweet soy sauce.
Provided by Hetty McKinnon
Categories vegetables, main course
Time 45m
Yield 6 to 8 servings
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high. When hot, drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons oil and add the tofu slices. Season the tofu well with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium and fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from the pan and allow to cool. Cut tofu into squares or triangles.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans and blanch for about 4 minutes or until just tender. Just before the beans are ready, add cabbage and bean sprouts to the pot and shock them in the water for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer the vegetables to a colander, refresh under cold water and drain well.
- Bring the same pot of water (add more water and salt, if required) to the boil, and add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the satay sauce: Place the peanuts, sliced shallots, garlic and chile into a blender or food processor, and blitz until it becomes a chunky paste. You can add a splash of water to get the blender going, or if you prefer a smoother paste. (It is traditional to use a mortar and pestle to make the paste, so if you have one, use it.)
- Heat a medium saucepan over medium-low, drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and add the paste, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant. Add the kecap manis, palm sugar, salt and 1 cup water. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce is well combined. (Peanut sauce can be stored in a jar in the refrigerator for 7 days.)
- To serve, divide the blanched vegetables, potatoes, tofu, cucumber, tomatoes and eggs over several serving plates or assemble it all on one large serving platter. Drizzle each plate generously with the peanut sauce and top with crispy fried shallots.
MRS. VAN HALEN'S GADO GADO
Provided by Valerie Bertinelli
Categories appetizer
Time 45m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 19
Steps:
- For the peanut sauce: Heat the peanut oil in a small saute pan over medium-low heat until hot. Add the onion and jalapeno and cook until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 20 seconds. Then add the coconut milk, peanut butter and curry paste. Increase the heat to medium and whisk until the mixture comes together, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and whisk in the lime juice, soy sauce and fish sauce. If the sauce separates before you are ready to serve, whisk it until it emulsifies and use immediately.
- For the vegetables: Prepare a large bowl of ice water and set aside. In a large pasta pot fitted with a colander insert, bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons salt, then add the carrots. Cook for 1 minute, then add the cauliflower. Cook for 1 minute, then add the green beans and broccoli and continue to cook, 2 minutes. Remove the colander from the pot and drain of excess water. Carefully pour the vegetables into the ice water so that they're submerged. Line a sheet tray with paper towels. When the vegetables are cold to the touch, remove them to the paper towels. Dry the vegetables and then put them into a large, shallow serving bowl or on a platter.
- Serve the blanched vegetables with the peanut sauce for dipping.
MIXED VEGETABLE SALAD WITH PEANUT SAUCE (GADO-GADO)
Make and share this Mixed Vegetable Salad with Peanut Sauce (Gado-Gado) recipe from Food.com.
Provided by LikeItLoveIt
Categories Lunch/Snacks
Time 35m
Yield 6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- (a variety of the following): cabbage, in 1-inch squares; bean sprouts; carrots, sliced or julienned; green beans, in 2-inch pieces; potatoes or sweet potatoes in large dice; sliced cucumbers; watercress sprigs; tomato wedges.
- This is from a new cookbook I just got.
- Haven't tried this recipe yet, but it looks dead on.
- This is a rather free-form salad of lightly cooked vegetables; the exact contents depend on what is available.
- What makes it gado-gado is the dressing, a creamy peanut sauce.
- Remove tofu from package and drain.
- Place on a plate lined with cloth or paper towels, top with another layer of towel and an inverted plate, and place a weight of a pound or more on top.
- Let stand for 30 minutes, unwrap, and discard liquid.
- Cut tofu into bite-sized squares or triangles and sprinkle with kecap manis.
- Fry in 350F oil until golden brown and puffy; transfer to paper towels to drain.
- Reserve oil to cook peanuts.
- One at a time, blanch vegetables in lightly salted water, rinsing them in cold water to stop cooking as soon as they reach the desired degree of doneness.
- Cabbage and bean sprouts require only a few seconds; carrots, green beans, and potatoes may take several minutes depending on size and tenderness.
- Do not blanch cucumbers, watercress, and tomatoes.
- use them raw.
- Place Gado-Gado Sauce in a small bowl in the center of a large platter.
- Arrange vegetables on platter around sauce.
- Garnish with wedges or slices of hard-cooked egg and fried onion flakes.
- To serve, spoon some sauce onto each plate and dip vegetables into sauce.
- Serves 4 to 6 with other dishes.
- --------------GADO-GADOSAUCE----------------.
- To prepare sauce in a mortar: Pound garlic, shallot, galangal, shrimp paste, and chile to a paste.
- To prepare sauce in a blender: Chop together in a 1-cup jar.
- In a wok or deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until a peanut sizzles on contact.
- Fry peanuts until lightly browned; transfer to paper towels to drain.
- When peanuts have cooled, grind in a mortar or food processor to a coarse, grainy paste, adding a little oil if necessary to facilitate blending.
- (May be made up to a week ahead and stored covered in refrigerator.) Remove all but 2 tablespoons oil from pan and reserve for another use.
- Return pan to medium-low heat and add pounded mixture.
- Cook until quite fragrant, but do not burn.
- Add peanuts, sugar, and coconut milk and bring to a boil, stirring.
- Simmer until thick and season to taste with salt and lime juice.
- Allow to coot to room temperature before serving.
GADO GADO (BLANCHED VEGETABLES WITH PEANUT SAUCE)
Provided by Food Network
Time 50m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and blanch, separately, cabbage, green beans, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli. Drain separately as well. Heat peanut sauce in a small saucepan, adding water if it is too thick, adjust seasoning. Arrange arugula leaves, potato, cucumbers evenly on a platter. Arrange blanched vegetables on top. Top with hard boiled eggs and radish sprouts. Pour hot peanut sauce over top. Garnish with crispy shallots. Serve with rice crackers.
GADO GADO (INDONESIAN VEGETABLE SALAD)
Steps:
- Prepare all vegetables separately, using a pot of boiling salted water and removing vegetables with a slotted spoon. Boil potatoes in their skins and slice. Blanch green beans for about 4 minutes. Blanch carrots for 2 minutes. Put cabbage in water, bring to a boil and drain immediately. Cut tofu into 1" squares and fry in oil until crispy. Thinly slice onion and fry in oil until golden. Cut tomatoes and cucumbers into wedges. Make a bed of cabbage on a large platter, mound beansprouts in the center and arrange all other vegetables, eggs and tofu in a decorative manner. Pour peanut sauce over and sprinkle with onions. Peanut Sauce: Heat oil in a small pot and saute garlic briefly. Stir in peanut butter, sugar and whisk in chicken stock. Add sesame oil, soy, vinegar and Tabasco to taste.
Tips:
- Use fresh vegetables: Fresh vegetables will give your gado-gado the best flavor and texture.
- Blanch the vegetables: Blanching the vegetables will help them retain their color and nutrients.
- Make your own peanut sauce: Homemade peanut sauce is much more flavorful than store-bought sauce.
- Use a variety of textures: Gado-gado is a textural dish, so be sure to include a variety of soft, crunchy, and chewy ingredients.
- Serve gado-gado warm or cold: Gado-gado can be served warm or cold, depending on your preference.
Conclusion:
Gado-gado is a delicious and versatile Indonesian dish that is perfect for any occasion. It is easy to make and can be tailored to your own taste preferences. With its vibrant colors and flavors, gado-gado is sure to be a hit with your family and friends.
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