**Gado-gado: A Culinary Symphony of Indonesian Flavors**
Gado-gado is an iconic Indonesian vegetable salad that tantalizes taste buds with its vibrant colors, unique textures, and harmonious blend of flavors. Originating from Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, this beloved dish has captivated the hearts of locals and visitors alike, earning its place as a culinary treasure. Gado-gado is a true testament to Indonesia's rich culinary heritage, reflecting the nation's diverse culinary influences and abundant natural produce.
This delectable salad features a medley of fresh, crisp vegetables, meticulously handpicked for their distinct flavors and textures. From the crunchy green beans and long beans to the succulent carrots and juicy tomatoes, each ingredient adds a layer of complexity to the overall experience. The vegetables are expertly blanched, preserving their vibrant colors and crispness while enhancing their natural flavors.
Complementing the vegetable medley is a flavorful peanut sauce, the heart and soul of gado-gado. This rich and creamy sauce is crafted from scratch using a symphony of ingredients, including roasted peanuts, fragrant spices, tangy tamarind, and a hint of sweetness. The sauce is delicately balanced, offering a delightful interplay of flavors that ranges from savory to sweet, tangy to nutty.
To assemble this culinary masterpiece, the blanched vegetables are artfully arranged on a plate, creating a vibrant tapestry of colors and textures. The creamy peanut sauce is generously drizzled over the vegetables, enveloping them in a luscious embrace. The dish is then garnished with a sprinkling of crispy fried shallots, adding a delightful textural contrast and an extra burst of flavor.
Gado-gado is a versatile dish that can be enjoyed in various ways. It is often served as a main course, accompanied by steamed rice or lontong, a traditional Indonesian rice cake. It also makes a refreshing and nutritious side dish, perfectly complementing grilled meats or fish. For a lighter meal, gado-gado can be served as a salad, drizzled with a tangy vinaigrette dressing.
This article provides two delightful recipes for gado-gado, each offering a unique culinary experience. The first recipe introduces the classic gado-gado with peanut sauce, a timeless dish that showcases the harmonious blend of flavors and textures. The second recipe presents a refreshing twist on the traditional gado-gado, featuring a tangy vinaigrette dressing that highlights the vibrant flavors of the fresh vegetables.
Whether you're a seasoned culinary enthusiast or a curious home cook looking to explore new flavors, gado-gado is a culinary journey waiting to be embarked upon. Its vibrant colors, unique textures, and symphony of flavors promise an unforgettable dining experience. So gather your ingredients, prepare your taste buds, and embark on a culinary adventure to discover the delights of this Indonesian treasure.
GADO GADO (INDONESIAN SALAD WITH PEANUT SAUCE)
Recipe video above. Fun to say, delicious to eat, the Gado Gado peanut sauce will make any vegetables into a big, healthy, tasty meal! Use any veg you want - the ones I've used are in the spirit of traditional Indonesian Gado Gado. Using Thai Red Curry Paste is an effective shortcut - it uses a lot of the ingredients used in Gado Gado sauce. Saves time, effort and money!All the veg can be warm or at room temp, so cook them first. Tempeh/tofu is best hot and crispy fresh out of the skillet.
Provided by Nagi
Categories Main Course Side Salad
Number Of Ingredients 19
Steps:
- Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Bring to simmer then cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly so the bottom doesn't catch, until it thickens. If too thick, just add more water - should be able to drizzle it (see video for thickness).
- Taste and adjust as follows: lime for more sour, salt, sugar for sweet.
- Cover and keep warm.
- Bring a saucepan of water to the boil.
- Add potatoes and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to colander to drain.
- Cook beansprouts for 3 minutes or until just wilted. Transfer to colander, press out excess water.
- Add spinach, push under to submerge - will instantly wilt. Remove, transfer to colander, press out excess water.
- Slice into 0.75 x 5 cm / 1/3 x 2" slices (or thereabouts).
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook tempeh 2 min on each side until deep golden and crispy. (Tofu ~ 1 1/2 min)
- Either make one platter for sharing, or individual. Vegetables and egg can be served warm or at room temp, sauce should be served warm (it thickens when cool).
- Place vegetables and tempeh on serving plate, top with egg.
- Pour sauce into serving bowl.
- Serve Gado Gado Salad with peanut sauce, peanuts for sprinkling, fresh chillies and prawn crackers on the side.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 572 kcal, Carbohydrate 48 g, Protein 32 g, Fat 33 g, SaturatedFat 10 g, Cholesterol 187 mg, Sodium 502 mg, Fiber 10 g, Sugar 15 g, ServingSize 1 serving
GADO GADO (MIXED VEGETABLE SALAD WITH INDONESIAN PEANUT SAUCE)
Steps:
- Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 20 to 25 minutes, until fork-tender. Peel and cut into 2-inch (5-cm) cubes.
- Prepare a bowl or tub of ice water. Blanch the cabbage for 1 to 2 minutes, until translucent and wilted, and transfer to the ice bath. When cool, drain on kitchen towels. Set aside. Repeat with the spinach (30 seconds to 1 minute), bean sprouts (30 seconds to 1 minute) and green beans (3 to 4 minutes).
- Arrange the vegetables, eggs and tofu or tempeh on a large platter. Serve with a bowl of Indonesian Peanut Sauce, with the vegetable chips and fried shallots on small plates alongside. Each diner should pick and choose an assortment of ingredients to put on their plate. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of peanut sauce over the vegetables and top with vegetable chips and fried shallots. Stir everything together and enjoy!
GADO GADO: INDONESIAN SALAD
Make and share this Gado Gado: Indonesian Salad recipe from Food.com.
Provided by Carol H
Categories Indonesian
Time 45m
Yield 6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Bring the water to a boil; add salt, cabbage, bean sprouts, and green beans.
- Boil vegetables for 5 minutes; drain.
- Boil potatoes in a separate pot until tender then peel them.
- Cut potatoes, eggs and cucumber into slices.
- Heat peanut sauce on low heat.
- Arrange the green vegetables on a very large platter.
- Cover them with the sliced potatoes, eggs and cucumbers.
- Pour the peanut sauce over the entire platter and serve.
- Serving Ideas : Serve with white rice and a meat dish.
- NOTES : The peanut sauce may be made by hand or bought.
- We put the Gado Gado in a large casserole dish.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 139.6, Fat 2.7, SaturatedFat 0.9, Cholesterol 93, Sodium 452.4, Carbohydrate 23.3, Fiber 5.3, Sugar 6.7, Protein 8.1
GADO-GADO RECIPE (INDONESIAN SALAD WITH PEANUT SAUCE)
Gado-gado recipe, an easy mixed salad from Indonesia, made up of cooked and raw items, served with a delicious peanut sauce, like satay.
Provided by Azlin Bloor
Categories Main Course Salad
Number Of Ingredients 27
Steps:
- Place your pulp in the first bowl and pour the hot water over it. Leave to soak for 10 minutes, mashing with a fork halfway through, to loosen the pulp.
- At the end of 10 minutes, mash it up well with your fingers. Strain the tamarind mix through a large mesh sieve or strainer, pushing down on the pulp in the strainer. You don't want a fine mesh, as you won't get the essence of the tamarind juice which will be too big to go through. Set aside until needed.
- Place the raw or blanched peanuts in a small frying pan over medium heat and toast for 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium-low after 2 minutes, so the peanuts don't brown too quickly and burn.Keep tossing and flipping the peanuts until they are a light brown colour and giving off a sweet and nutty aroma.
- When done, tip the nuts onto a large, flat plate and leave to cool for for at least 15 minutes while you get the other ingredients going.
- Place the toasted peanuts in a chopper and pulse to a fine state. Set aside for adding to the sauce.
- Halve the onion, and roughly chop the chillies.
- Add the onion, garlic, chillies and dried shrimp to a food chopper and chop to a fine state. You could also use a pestle and mortar for this.
- Heat the oil in a mdium saucepan over medium heat.
- Fry the ground ingredients for 2 minutes.
- Tip in the peanuts and tamarind juice. Stir, then pour in the water and give it a stir to mix well. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the coconut milk, palm sugar, kaffir lime leaves, sweet soy sauce and salt. Give it a good stir and bring back to a simmer. Lower the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes.I like the sauce to be fairly thick, so that it will stick to whatever you dip into it. If you want to drizzle it, just add a little more water to make it slightly runnier.
- Take it off the heat and stir in the lime juice. Check seasoning, and add a little more salt if you need it. The sauce is meant to be strong in flavour, like any salad dressing, as it's meant to be eaten with unseasoned vegetables.Leave the sauce until you are ready to serve.It can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in the fridge, covered.The sauce is served at room temperature, but you can have it hot, if you prefer.
- Eggs - boil the eggs, cool and peel them. Then halve or quarter them.
- Potatoes - scrub clean, then cut into bite-sized cubes. Boil them for about 7 minutes until a knife glides through easily. This will depend on the size of your cubes. Drain and set aside.
- Tempeh and Tofu - cut into bite-sized cubes and fry separately in a frying pan until crisp and lightly browned, about 3 minutes for each. Drain onto kitchen paper lined plates and set aside.
- Spinach - you can quickly blanch this in a pot of simmering water, or do like I do and use the microwave oven. Give them about 60 seconds, tossing halfway, so they cook uniformly.
- Green beans & Beansprouts - I prefer to leave these raw but you can blanch them in a pot of simmering water.
- Cucumber - cut these into sticks or chop them up roughly into bite-sized pieces like when served with satay.
- Cabbage - shred them or cut them into bite-sized pieces. Leave them raw or blanch them, if you like.
- Tomatoes - halve or quarter, depending on size of the tomatoes you are using. I tend to leave cherry tomatoes whole.
- Salad Leaves - leave them whole or cut them, it's matter of preference.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 545 kcal, Carbohydrate 37 g, Protein 26 g, Fat 36 g, SaturatedFat 14 g, TransFat 1 g, Cholesterol 109 mg, Sodium 372 mg, Fiber 8 g, Sugar 10 g, UnsaturatedFat 20 g, ServingSize 1 serving
Tips:
- Use fresh ingredients. The fresher your vegetables, the better your gado-gado will taste. Whenever possible, buy organic produce.
- Don't overcook the vegetables. Overcooked vegetables will become mushy and lose their flavor. Blanch the vegetables for a few minutes, or until they are just tender.
- Make the peanut sauce ahead of time. The peanut sauce can be made up to a day in advance. This will give the flavors time to meld and develop.
- Serve gado-gado warm or at room temperature. Gado-gado is best served warm or at room temperature. If you are serving it cold, let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.
- Garnish gado-gado with your favorite toppings. Some popular toppings for gado-gado include hard-boiled eggs, fried tofu, tempeh, and krupuk (shrimp crackers).
Conclusion:
Gado-gado is a delicious and healthy Indonesian vegetable salad that is perfect for a light lunch or dinner. It is easy to make and can be customized to your liking. With its vibrant flavors and textures, gado-gado is a dish that is sure to please everyone at your table.
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