Gado-Gado

This salad is called gado-gado and it is Java island origin. However, depending where you get it from (in Indonesia), either homemade or food vendors, different places offer different style of gado-gado. Nevertheless, the base is always cooked veggies that are either steamed or boiled, with peanut sauce 🙂

In Borneo, where my family reside, the gado-gado is more traditional, served with local steamed/boiled veggies, but big cities in other islands would serve it with lettuce, making the salad look more Westernized. Normally gado-gado would be accompanied with crackers/chips and boiled eggs. I was too lazy making my vegan egg and I had no chips left at home to fry hahah. So my gado-gado is pretty humble 😛

Here is the quickie recipe that you absolutely can adjust to your liking btw!

• any greens you like, kale, water spinach, spinach, etc
• potatoes, is a must
• cucumber, is normally a must
• tomato if you like, carrot if you like
• bean sprouts, is a must
• long beans (Chinese long beans), if you can find it
• fried tofu and tempeh, if you like
• green beans

Now, I did not have most of the greens usually used nor long beans, just as I felt like making gado-gado, those greens were not available, le sigh…anyhoo….I added Brussels sprouts 😛 Obviously this is not authentic, as Indonesians do not really consume Brussels sprouts 🙂

• steam veggies until tender
• once veggies are tender, especially potatoes, take off pan lid, add in bean sprouts (as they are easily tender, you just want them to be blanched or slightly steamed, as to not serve them too soft)

Peanut Sauce

• enough PB2 powder
• enough sweet soy sauce (thick soy sauce)
• garlic powder
• lukewarm water
• pepper flakes, optional
• salt, optional
• lime/lemon juice, to taste
• You can use PB2 powder OR peanut butter (either crunchy or smooth, whichever you like) OR freshly fried/roasted peanuts, ground finely.
• Mix everything until it reach your favorite consistency, some like it thicker, some like it thinner
• Adjust flavor (it should be sweet, most like it sweet and spicy, a little tangy, a tad)

If you can find fried onion, they are perfect for this salad. If you cannot, you can deep fry shallots/onion, thinly sliced, fry til crunchy, or you can omit if you do not like onion much 🙂

Serve veggies, mixed, topped with generous of peanut sauce (and a drizzle of sweet soy sauce if you like sweetness), and enjoy 😀 Easy peasy 😀

Thanks for looking, you guys 🙂

PS: I added boiled eggs for my littles, but obviously it becomes vegetarian with boiled eggs, instead vegan 🙂

Print Recipe

Gado-Gado

Indonesian salad with peanut sauce

Servings: 0

Ingredients

• any greens you like kale, water spinach, spinach, etc
• potatoes is a must
• cucumber is normally a must
• tomato if you like carrot if you like
• bean sprouts is a must
• long beans Chinese long beans, if you can find it
• fried tofu and tempeh if you like
• green beans

Peanut Sauce

• enough PB2 powder
• enough sweet soy sauce thick soy sauce
• garlic powder
• lukewarm water
• pepper flakes optional
• salt optional
• lime/lemon juice to taste

Instructions

• steam veggies until tender
• once veggies are tender, especially potatoes, take off pan lid, add in bean sprouts (as they are easily tender, you just want them to be blanched or slightly steamed, as to not serve them too soft)

Peanut Sauce

• Mix everything until it reach your favorite consistency, some like it thicker, some like it thinner
• Adjust flavor (it should be sweet, most like it sweet and spicy, a little tangy, a tad)
• If you can find fried onion, they are perfect for this salad. If you cannot, you can deep fry shallots/onion, thinly sliced, fry til crunchy, or you can omit if you do not like onion much 🙂
• Serve veggies, mixed, topped with generous of peanut sauce (and a drizzle of sweet soy sauce if you like sweetness), and enjoy 😀 Easy peasy 😀

Notes

You can use PB2 powder OR peanut butter (either crunchy or smooth, whichever you like) OR freshly fried/roasted peanuts, ground finely.