Indonesian Gado-Gado – Vegetable Salad with Rich Peanut Sauce

About This Recipe

Gado-gado is one of Indonesia's most beloved and internationally recognised dishes — a generous platter of steamed vegetables (green beans, spinach, potato, cabbage), raw vegetables (cucumber, bean sprouts), fried tofu and tempeh, and hard-boiled eggs, all united by a generous pour of warm, rich peanut sauce. The name roughly translates to 'mix-mix,' referring to the eclectic combination of textures and temperatures on a single plate. The peanut sauce (bumbu kacang) is the heart of the dish — ground roasted peanuts, chilli, garlic, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar, tamarind and coconut milk cooked into a thick, fragrant, complex sauce that is unlike the thinner peanut sauces of Thai or Vietnamese cuisine. Indonesian peanut sauce is richer, slightly spicier, and deeply aromatic from the galangal and kaffir lime leaf. Gado-gado is a celebration of vegetables and one of the best arguments for plant-based eating — the peanut sauce provides complete protein and extraordinary flavour, making the vegetables genuinely exciting rather than virtuous. It is naturally gluten-free and easily adaptable to vegan eating.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 200 ggreen beans(trimmed, blanched)
• 200 gbaby spinach(briefly wilted)
• 200 gwaxy potatoes(boiled and sliced)
• 200 gwhite cabbage(shredded, briefly blanched)
• 1cucumber(sliced)
• 100 gbean sprouts
• 200 gfirm tofu(fried until golden)
• 100 gtempeh(sliced and fried)
• 4hard-boiled eggs(halved)
• 200 groasted peanuts(finely ground)
• 3fresh red chillies
• 3 clovesgarlic
• 2 cmgalangal or ginger
• 3kaffir lime leaves
• 2 tbsptamarind paste
• 2 tbsppalm sugar or brown sugar
• 200 mlcoconut milk
• 2 tbspsoy sauce

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the vegetables

   Blanch green beans, spinach and cabbage separately in boiling water until just tender. Drain and cool. Fry tofu and tempeh until golden.

2. 2

   Make the peanut sauce

   Blend chillies, garlic, galangal and kaffir lime leaves to a paste. Fry in oil until fragrant, 3 minutes. Add ground peanuts, stir well. Add coconut milk, tamarind, palm sugar and soy sauce. Simmer 5 minutes until thick and smooth.

   The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon but pourable. Thin with water if needed.

3. 3

   Arrange the plate

   Arrange all vegetables, tofu, tempeh and eggs on a platter or individual plates — either mixed or artfully separated.

4. 4

   Dress and serve

   Pour warm peanut sauce generously over the platter. Garnish with fried shallots and prawn crackers.

Variations

• •

  Ketoprak: a similar Jakarta dish using rice cakes (lontong) and glass noodles instead of potato.

• •

  Pecel: a Javanese version with a spicier, drier peanut sauce without coconut milk.

Storage

Peanut sauce keeps 5 days. Vegetables prepared fresh. Tofu and tempeh keep 3 days.

Frequently Asked Questions