Gado-Gado
A warm Indonesian salad of blanched and fresh vegetables, potato, and egg, drizzled with a rich spiced peanut sauce. Indonesia's national dish — gado-gado means 'mix-mix', and you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand.
Ingredients
- 100 gboiled potato
- 100 ggreen beans, boiled until tender
- 100 gcabbage, blanched
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced or blanched
- 100 gbean sprouts
- 0.5 fresh cucumber, sliced into half-rounds
- 4 lettuce leaves
- 1 egg, boiled
- 2 tbsproasted peanuts for serving
- 3 tbsproasted peanuts
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsppalm sugar
- 1 tspred chili
- 1 tsptamarind
- 2 tbspwater
- 1 tspsoy sauce
- 0.5 tspsesame oil
Method
- Boil the potato until tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes depending on size. Bring a separate pot of salted water to a full rolling boil. Cook the green beans in it at a hard boil until tender all the way through — bite one: there should be no squeaky raw core. Raw or barely blanched green beans contain phasin, which only high heat destroys, so a quick dip is not enough for them. Then add the cabbage and carrot slices to the same water for 1–2 minutes, just enough to take the raw edge off while they stay bright and slightly crunchy. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.
- Make the peanut sauce: in a mortar (or blender), pound the roasted peanuts, garlic, chili, and palm sugar into a rough paste. You want some texture, not baby food. Add the soy sauce, tamarind paste (or lime juice), sesame oil, and water. Stir until you have a thick, glossy sauce. Taste it — it should hit sweet, salty, sour, and spicy all at once. Adjust with more sugar, lime, or chili as needed.
- Slice the boiled potato into rounds about 5 mm thick. Cut the cucumber into half-rounds. If using a boiled egg, peel it and cut in half lengthwise. Keep the lettuce leaves and bean sprouts raw and crisp.
- Line a plate or shallow bowl with the lettuce leaves. Arrange the vegetables in neat clusters — potato rounds, green beans, cabbage, carrot, cucumber, and bean sprouts — so each ingredient is visible and the plate looks abundant.
- Drizzle the warm peanut sauce generously over the vegetables. Top with the egg halves, scatter roasted peanuts on top for crunch, and serve immediately while the sauce is still slightly warm.
FAQ
Gado-gado means 'mix-mix' — use whatever you have. Potato, carrot, cabbage, and green beans are the base. Bean sprouts can be replaced with cucumber, and tofu with a boiled egg or chicken breast.
Use tahini (sesame paste) or sunflower seed butter — the consistency and richness will be similar. The flavor will change but the dish remains delicious.
Tamarind provides sourness — replace it with the same amount of lime or lemon juice. The flavor will be slightly fresher but very close.
Yes — simply leave out the eggs. All vegetables and the peanut sauce are fully plant-based. This is one of the most convenient vegan dishes in Indonesian cuisine.
Store the sauce separately in the fridge for up to 3 days. Blanched vegetables are best freshly made — they keep for no more than a day. Dress the salad with sauce just before serving, otherwise it will become soggy.
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Comments (1)
I make the dressing for gado-gado first and let it sit while I prep everything else. The boiled potato and seasonings need at least 10 minutes to meld. Last-second dressing always tastes a bit harsh and disjointed.