I used to dislike gado gado until I realised I can just omit the veggies I dislike. Now I make a combo of the veggies that work for me. As pictured here.
The vegetarian cheat code for gado gado
It was the first staple dish I cooked for vegetarian friends when they came round for dinner. But it wasn’t until this year that I learned that you can make it vegan or vegetarian by replacing the trassi (fermented prawn paste) with miso.
Gado gado slaw for Indonesian chicken and waffles
I use the sauce to make a gado gado style slaw with grated red cabbage, white cabbage and carrots for my Indonesian chicken and waffles. And replace the boiled egg with crispy oven-baked tofu puffs for vegan friends.
When and how do I eat gado gado?
Gado gado’ll do nicely for lunch or dinner and should comprise a full meal in itself, with maybe a side of kerupuk or prawn crackers.
I still get angry when people put weird shit like bell peppers in their gado gado. Or boiled blubbery bean sprouts? But I guess at least they’re eating it. So if that’s what you wanna do I’m not stopping you.
Gado Gado: Classic Indonesian Salad
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Pots in the amount of veggies you want to cook
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c - 350 ml water
- 2 medium shallots finely chopped
- 3 red chilies finely chopped with the white core and seeds removed if you prefer less heat
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 t - 8 gr trassi fermented prawn paste, use miso to make this vegan
- 1" - 1.5 cm galengal freshly grated, or replace with 1/2 tsp dried
- 1 1/2 T - 20 gr tamarind pulp
- 2 T - 30 gr palm sugar
- pinch salt
- 7 T - 100 gr peanut butter as plain as possible
- 3 makrut lime leaves smashed and bruised
- 1.5 oz - 50 gr creamed coconut you can find this in Asian supermarkets
- 1 T - 15 ml kecap manis sweet Indonesian soy sauce
For gado gado my way
- head lettuce of choice, avoid anything too bitter, I like little gems myself
- 1 egg per person, soft boiled - skip if you're eating vegan
- tofu puffs as many as you like, either store-bought or home made (see notes)
- 1 c - 50 gr bean sprouts brown bottoms removed, definitely not cooked
- 2 c - 75 gr new potatoes cooked for about 15 minutes in salted water
- 1/2 cucumber sliced to whatever dimensions you enjoy
For gado gado slaw
- 1 c - 100 gr red cabbage grated
- 1 c - 100 gr white cabbage grated
- 1/2 c - 50 gr carrots grated
- 3 spring onions sliced into thin rings
Instructions
- Prep your veg first, I like my combination of 1 head of lettuce, 1 egg per person, a handful of tofu puffs, 1 c - 50 gr of bean sprouts, 2 c - 150 gr of boiled new potatoes and 1/2 sliced cucumber, but you can have this with whatever and however many veg you like.
To make the sauce
- Place 1 1/2 c - 350 ml of water in a small saucepan, add 2 finely chopped shallots, 3 finely chopped red chilies (seeds and pith removed for less heat), 3 finely minced garlic cloves, 2 t - 8 gr trassi, 1 inch freshly peeled and grated galengal, 1 1/2 t - 20 gr tamarind, 2 T - 30 gr palm sugar, 3 bruised lime leaves and a pinch of salt and bring to the boil.
- Once the water spice mixture has come to the boil, lower the heat and stir in 7 T - 100 gr of peanut butter.
- Let it come back up to the boil, then reduce the heat one last time and add 1.5 oz - 50 gr creamed coconut. Stir until dissolved and take the sauce off the heat.
- Finish by stirring in 1 T - 15 ml of kecap manis to give the sauce a slight gloss.
To compose your gado gado or gado gado slaw
- When the sauce has cooled completely,either:
- Plate up your veggies, tofu puffs, new potatoes and eggs and add a nice big dollop of the sauce on top of it. OR:
- Mix a few tablespoons of the sauce into a large bowl 1 c - 100 gr red cabbage, 1 c - 100 gr white cabbage, 1/2 c - 50 gr of carrot and 3 finely sliced spring onions until everything is coated in a thin layer of the sauce.
Notes
