Gado-Gado (Indonesian Warm Vegetable Salad with Peanut Sauce)

Ingredients

Contains peanut, soy, egg, gluten. Cooking for an allergy? Check the label on every packet you use — brands differ, and we can only tell you what the recipe calls for.

Method

1. 1

   Start a large pot of salted water to boil for potatoes and a separate small pot for eggs.

2. 2

   Place cubed potatoes in the large pot, bring to a boil and cook until tender when pierced with a fork.

   12 min
3. 3

   Place eggs in the small pot, cover with cold water, bring to a gentle boil, then simmer 9–10 minutes for hard-boiled; transfer to ice water and cool.

   10 min
4. 4

   While potatoes and eggs cook, bring a medium saucepan of water to a rolling boil and blanch the green beans in batches for 2 minutes each until bright green and just tender.

   2 min
5. 5

   Immediately transfer blanched green beans to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking, then drain.

6. 6

   Blanch the shredded cabbage in the same boiling water for 1 minute, then transfer to ice water and drain.

   1 min
7. 7

   Blanch the bean sprouts for 30–45 seconds, then transfer to ice water and drain.

   1 min
8. 8

   Pat tofu and tempeh pieces dry with paper towels.

9. 9

   Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and fry tofu until golden and crisp on all sides, about 6 minutes; remove to a paper towel-lined plate and season with 1 tbsp soy sauce.

   6 min
10. 10

    In the same skillet, add remaining 2–3 tbsp oil and fry tempeh slices until golden and edges are crisp, about 4–5 minutes; remove and season with 1 tbsp soy sauce.

    5 min
11. 11

    If you prefer, halve or quarter the cooked potatoes and briefly brown them in the skillet (1–2 minutes) for texture; otherwise keep them warm.

    Browning is optional — traditional gado‑gado often uses simply boiled potatoes.

    2 min
12. 12

    Toast the roasted peanuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring, until fragrant, 3–4 minutes (skip if peanuts already roasted very dark).

    4 min
13. 13

    Transfer toasted peanuts, garlic, chilies, tamarind paste, kecap manis, palm sugar and salt to a food processor or blender and pulse to a coarse paste.

14. 14

    With the motor running, stream in 240 ml hot water until the mixture is a thick, pourable sauce; transfer to a saucepan.

15. 15

    Simmer the peanut sauce over low heat, stirring, to meld flavors and thicken slightly, 4–5 minutes; taste and adjust salt, sugar or tamarind (acid) as needed.

    5 min
16. 16

    Peel and halve the hard-boiled eggs.

17. 17

    Arrange potatoes, green beans, cabbage, bean sprouts, cucumber, fried tofu and tempeh on a large platter or individual plates.

18. 18

    Spoon warm peanut sauce generously over the plated vegetables and proteins, scatter halved eggs on top and sprinkle with fried shallots.

19. 19

    Serve immediately with lime wedges at the side for squeezing.