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Gado-Gado: Javanese-Style Vegetable Salad With Peanut Sauce
2
servings
Main
Course
Print Recipe
Ingredients
Directions
Ingredients
1 c
potatoes, peeled, boiled, and chopped into chunks
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1
chayote peeled, diced, and blanched
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1
watercress leaf, washed and rinsed
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½ c
bean sprouts, washed and blanched
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½ c
long greens beans, cut into chunks and blanched
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1 c
white cabbage, cut into thick slices and blanched
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½
gourd, green (or white), sliced and blanched
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½ c
cucumber, seedless, peeled and cut into thick slices
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3
hard-boiled eggs, cut into wedges
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½ c
cherry tomatoes, sliced
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1
fried sliced shallot
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12
fried garlic crackers
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¾ c
firm tofu and tempeh, chopped into chunks and fried
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Peanut Sauce
c
peanuts, skin on
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1 tbsp
vegetable oil
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1 lg
red chile, seedless and cut in large chunks
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1
red bird's eye chile, cleaned and cut into four slices
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4
cloves garlic, peeled
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1 tbsp
sweet soy sauce
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1 tsp
tamarind paste
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2 tbsp
warm water
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c
palm sugar
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1 tbsp
salt
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1
lime, juiced
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A bed of blanched vegetables, tofu, and tempeh is the perfect blank canvas for garlicky, spicy peanut sauce in this classic Indonesian dish.

Directions

Peanut Sauce
  1. Place peanuts, garlic, palm sugar, chiles, vegetable oil, and salt into a food processor. Pulse until you get a smooth paste. Place in a mixing bowl.
  2. Add tamarind paste, lime juice, and sweet soy sauce to the mix and stir.
  3. Keep stirring, pouring only enough of the warm water until you reach your desired consistency.
Gado-Gado
  1. Use a paper towel to drain any excess water from the blanched vegetables so that they stay crisp and crunchy. Blanched vegetables should be kept slightly undercooked (al dente). In a large bowl, combine all the vegetables except the cherry tomatoes.
  2. Add the peanut dressing. If too thick, thin out by adding some hot water.
  3. Stir well, taste, and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
  4. Sprinkle the fried shallots on top, then add the cherry tomatoes, egg wedges, tofu, tempeh, and crackers. Mix and serve.