Gado Gado: Classic Indonesian Salad

By Mieke
22/08/2019

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

Dorothy Porker
This classic Indonesian salad recipe with spicy peanut sauce is a great staple to feed your vegetarian and vegan friends and yourself. Never forget yourself.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main course
Cuisine Asian, Indonesian, Southeast Asian, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings 2

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

You can find my recipe for oven-baked tofu puffs here.
The peanut sauce will keep for 5 days in a closed container in the fridge but you need to allow it to cool to room temperature before you store it.
If re-using, remove from the fridge and let it get back up to room temperature and give it a good stir before adding it to anything as it does get quite firm once cooled down completely or reheat in a sauce pan and add water until you get your desired consistency.
Keyword Asian food, asian recipes, gado gado, Indonesian food, Indonesian recipe, Salad, slaw

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