Gado Gado is a typical Indonesian salad that is both enjoyable to say and great to eat. It’s perhaps the only recipe where you can use the terms “blanched vegetables” and “tasty” interchangeably and truly mean it. What a wonder worker that Gado Gado peanut sauce is!

Gado Gado is a peanut sauce-topped Indonesian salad.

This recipe is for the kid in all of us who hates vegetables. By smearing them with a sweet, savoury Indonesian peanut sauce, clever Indonesians discovered a technique to make basic vegetables absolutely attractive to everyone! Because really, I would give you the look of someone who has gone insane if you put a huge platter of boiled vegetables in front of me and call it dinner.

On the other hand, dinner becomes much more fascinating when peanut sauce appears. Happy Gado! We adore the name, the vibrant colour, the fact that it is undoubtedly delicious, and the fact that it makes us feel good to eat so many vegetables for supper!

“Gado Gado” translates to “mix-mix,” which is fitting for this adaptable dish that can be prepared with any combination of veggies.

What goes in Gado Gado Peanut Sauce

The peanut sauce, which is a mild variant of Thai peanut sauce, is the main attraction of Gado Gado. Making it from scratch is a bit of a bother because it requires pureeing roasted peanuts (which is difficult to make perfectly smooth), a few aromatics like garlic, lemongrass, galangal and prawn paste, as well as sauces and South East Asian ‘umami’.

So I use a little Thai red curry paste, which is a cheeky but very efficient shortcut. It saves a tonne of time, money, and effort and uses the same products. Win, win, win!

• Thai red curry paste Maesri is my favourite brand. The cheapest, at about $1.50 for a small can, is also the best and most genuine flavour. accessible at major Australian grocery stores (Coles, Woolworths, Harris Farms), as well as, of course, Asian retailers. You read the same thing about Massaman Curry paste in Friday’s recipe for lamb shanks, my regular readers!
• Peanut butter made naturally Natural peanut butter is 100% peanuts and has a stronger peanut flavour than commercial peanut butter which has sugar and other additives. Pretty widely available nowadays in the health food section of supermarkets. Can use normal peanut butter spread but the peanut flavour is not as good and sauce will be thicker. Do not be tempted to dilute with too much water – it will dilute the flavour!
• Kecap Manis Indonesian soy sauce that is rich, dark, and sweet. thicker, sweeter, and more syrup-like than regular soy sauce. Kecap manis may be found at major supermarkets and Asian shops here in Australia. Dark soy sauce and honey make an easy substitute. Also used for: Mie Goreng Noodles, Indonesian Satay Chicken, and Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice);
• Coconut milk  flavour and creaminess for the sauce;

What goes in Gado Gado

The whole point of Gado Gado is to be versatile, so while Gado Gado in Indonesia will usually be served with one or two ingredients you mightn’t be familiar with (such as Morning Glory, bitter gourd, chayote), you will likely recognise most ingredients.

Spinach, beansprouts, egg and cucumber are typically included, so I’ve included it in mine. Potato is my starch of choice, though you could easily include some rice instead, or bulk out on more filling vegetables such as broccoli or cauliflower.

It’s nice to include a variety of textures and colours, as well as a starch so it makes a satisfying meal. Any potato, or something like pumpkin, or vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower are great for filling out this salad to make it a meal that will keep you full.

Tempeh

The one ingredient you spy in the above that you mightn’t be familiar with is tempeh. Tempeh is an Indonesian fermented soy bean product that vegetarians are mad for!😂

It has a texture like firm tofu, but meatier, and it tastes nutty – kind of like sunflower seeds. Nowadays, it’s usually available in the tofu section of large supermarkets in Australia (Wooles, Coles, Harris Farms).

Can’t find tempeh – or doesn’t appeal??

Totally fine. Substitute with crispy tofu (included in recipe) or just leave it out and add another vegetable!

How to make Gado Gado

There’s a few components to making Gado Gado but it’s very straightforward:

• Peanut sauce – plonk in saucepan, simmer 5 minutes;
• Vegetables – blanch vegetables that need cooking;
• Crispy tempeh or tofu – fry it up last so they’re nice and crispy, fresh out of the skillet;
• Pile up the platter and serve it up!

Prawn Crackers – optional 

Oh – I haven’t mentioned prawn crackers yet. They are traditionally served on the side of Gado Gado – terrific crunchy addition that doubles as an eating vessel.I feel like Gado Gado has so many components to it as is, it’s kind of like the cherry on top. That is – I include it when I’m making for friends, leave it out when it’s a quick(ish) meal for myself.

Buy a bag ready made, fry them up yourself (you’ll find raw prawn crackers in the Asian aisle of most large supermarkets nowadays) or a quick no-fry microwave popping option just place 8 to 10 on the edge of a microwave turntable and microwave for 20 to 30 seconds. (Yes really, it works 100%).

How to serve Gado Gado

Gado Gado is a mega salad that’s intended to be served as a main course salad. But it also works beautifully as part of a spread for sharing. The recipe as written below is for 2 people, but if you add a side of Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice) or Mee Goreng (Indonesian Noodles) it would easily serve 4.If you wanted to bulk out the meal with some rice, add a side of coconut rice (people go bonkers over coconut rice with peanut sauce!).It travels well, being a dish that can be served at room temperature (tempeh aside), and reheats very quickly if you so choose (the vegetables warm quickly).But mostly, think of Gado Gado as a means to consume lots of vegetables in an extremely delicious form. I mean, you could blitz up another green smoothie that tastes like grass (because you got too enthusiastic with the kale, thinking well if I’m gonna do this, I may as well load it up), that you force yourself to drink all the while pinching your nose.