Salads Vegetables Vegetarian

Indonesian Salad with a Peanut Sauce Dressing

Gado-gado is an Indonesian salad which literally means “mix-mix” since it is made of rich mixture of vegetables such as carrot, bean sprouts, cucumber, green beans, potato with tofu and hard-boiled eggs, all coated in a peanut sauce dressing.

The joy of this salad is you can use such a variety of vegetables – raw or cooked- to suit your availability and taste. 

I add cherry tomatoes for colour and flavour and blanch some carrots and celery to give a contrast in textures. This dish can be served as a quick and easy starter or increase the ingredients and serve as a main course. 

Indonesian Salad with a Peanut Sauce Dressing

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 8 new potatoes
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 1 bag bean sprouts
  • 4 hard-boiled eggs
  • 2 sticks celery
  • 2-4 carrots peeled
  • 16 cherry tomatoes

Peanut Sauce

  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp oil coconut or sunflower
  • 100 g smooth peanut butter
  • 2 tsp chilli sauce
  • 1 tsp tamarind sauce
  • 1 tsp palm sugar or soft brown sugar
  • 175 ml coconut milk
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 100 g unroasted peanuts

Instructions

  • Cook the potatoes until tender, and quarter when cool.
  • Cut the carrots and celery into equal narrow lengths about 3cm long. Blanch in a pan of boiling water for 2 minutes and immediately chill in cold water.
  • Peel strips from the cucumber and slice in half lengthwise. Using a teaspoon remove the seeds and cut into lengths about the same size of the carrots.
  • Rinse the bean sprouts well and drain. Divide between the plates, placing in the centre.
  • Arrange the carrots, celery, cucumber and cherry tomatoes around the plates.
  • Halve the eggs and place on the bean sprouts.
  • Drizzle with the peanut sauce.

Peanut Sauce

  • Heat the oil and cook the onion gently until cooked through without browning. Cool.
  • Add the remaining ingredients to a blender with the onion and blend until evenly mixed. At this stage you can go for a coarse or really smooth dressing. If it seems too thick add a little boiling water.

Notes

The peanut sauce freezes well if you have any over. It can be used as a delicious marinade for chicken or for a vegetarian dish, use a selection of mushrooms.
The versatility of this salad means any odd vegetables in the fridge, such as mushrooms, beans, spring onions and cauliflower, can be used up.

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