Gado-gado in Indonesian literary means “mix-mix” since it is made of rich mixture of vegetables such as potatoes, string beans, bean sprouts, spinach, corn or cabbage, all mixed in a peanut sauce dressing. You can optionally add tofu or tempeh and hard-boiled eggs and top it with cassava chips. This easy backpacker recipe is ready in 20 minutes and a rich but healthy dish.
Ingredients for the satay sauce (serves 2)
2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
2 ts sambal olek (or ½ a red pepper, finely chopped)
small piece of ginger (optional), in very little cubes
2 shallots, chopped finely
1 ts salt
2 ts sugar
2 heaping spoons of peanut butter
½ cup of water
200ml coconut milk
For the salad:*
200 gr small potatoes, cut in half
½ medium cabbage, cut into chunks
100g sugar snaps
100 gr broccoli, in small pieces
½ medium cucumber, sliced thickly
2 medium-boiled eggs, in half (optional)
Cassava chips (optional)
3 tbsp picked coriander leaves (optional)
In fact you can use any kind of vegetable you want or still have in the fridge. That makes Gado Gado a great dish to finish up your hostel leftovers on the last night of your stay.
For the sauce, whisk all the sauce-ingredients in a bowl. We would prefer using a food processor, but since we haven’t ever seen a hostel with one in their kitchen assortment, use a fork. It will take a bit longer to get a creamy consistency, but works as well. If the consistency is too thick, you can add some water. If you prefer the sauce to be hot, you can heat it up before serving.
Steam/boil the vegetables except the potatoes in a pan until ‘al dente’ (5 min). Boil the potatoes separately; they need some time (15 min).
Take a large serving plate and pile up the vegetables and the eggs. Spoon sauce on top and sprinkle with the remaining chips, coriander. Serve warm-ish, or cold as a salad.