This Indonesian Gado-Gado Salad is a meal in itself with raw and blanched vegetables, eggs, tofu, tempeh, rice cakes, and peanut sauce.
I finally made the full version of this popular Indonesian Gado-Gado Salad. It has been on my to-do list for a long time and since we are into “big” salads these days, I made it recently. The guys love meat and so I prepared this Ayam Panggang Kunyit (Grilled Turmeric Chicken) to go with the salad. It was a great combo and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Many years back, I made a simplified version for a few friends with food sensitivities.
Hearty Gado-Gado Salad With A Variety of Carbs and Vegetables
Pan fried slices of tofu and tempeh are favorites included in this huge salad. Sometimes, you will also see lemang (glutinous rice cakes), which is actually glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk wrapped in banana leaves roasted in the hollow of a bamboo tube. It will be a stretch to even consider doing that here. I guess I could use the oven minus the bamboo tubes but that will have to be a recipe for another time.
Instead, I made nasi himpit (pressed rice) like that for Satay but in a tube shape using plastic wrap to roll the rice like sushi. I cooked the rice in a lot more water so that it is softer and stickier and pan fried it to help it stay together better. You can use glutinous rice and coconut milk if preferred but the glutinous rice will have to be soaked overnight.
For the vegetables, I went with the usual cucumber and cabbage served raw. Green beans and taugeh (mungbean sprouts) are blached. My favorites are kacang panjang (long beans) and bangkuang (jicama) which I had difficulty finding at this time of the year. If you can find jicama, peel and julienne a handful. Both long beans and jicama are crisp and delicious with the peanut sauce.
The Crispy Options
Fortunately, I do have some keropok (fish/shrimp crackers) on hand. I used up all my shrimp crackers for this recipe. A fast and easy way to “fry” keropok is to do it in the microwave. It only takes 1 to 2 minutes depending on the size and thickness of the keropok. Break them into smaller pieces once they are cooked.
If you have the time, a tasty option is to make your own fritters like these crispy fritters by adding teeny shrimp to it. These can be made ahead of time. Homemade crispy shrimp fritters will be amazing with the peanut sauce.
Spicy Peanut Sauce/Dressing
The spicy peanut sauce/dressing is what ties this salad together. It goes really well with the vegetables, eggs, tofu, tempeh, and rice cakes. Peanut Sauce is not new to me and my version is very similar to this quick satay peanut sauce using peanut butter and sriracha sauce.
For this recipe, I used roasted peanuts, fresh chilies, and added just a teaspoon of toasted belacan/terasi. You can also use peanut butter, if preferred. Some recipes include dark caramel soy sauce but I choose not to add that because I prefer a brighter looking sauce. The palm sugar I used should give sufficient sweetness to the sauce and the amount can be adjusted to suit your taste buds.
Similar Items Used In This Gado-Gado Salad
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Gado-Gado Salad
Ingredients
- ½ cup long grain rice (100g)
- ½ tsp salt
- 12 oz baby potatoes (340g)
- 4 large eggs
- 7 oz baked tofu (200g)
- 8 oz tempeh (225g)
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil (divided)
- 4 to 8 pieces keropok (fish or shrimp crackers)
- ½ cup fried shallots (25g)
- 1 medium lime (cut into wedges)
Blanched Vegetables
- 8 oz mungbean sprouts (225g)
- 8 oz green beans (trimmed) (225g)
- 4 oz long beans (cut into 2½ inch lengths) (113g)
Raw Vegetables
- 1 medium cucumber (cut into slices)
- 4 oz cabbage (shredded) (125g)
Peanut Sauce (Kuah/Bumbu Kacang)
- 1 cup blanched peanuts (150g)
- 4 cloves garlic (peeled)
- 4 large shallots (peeled)**
- 4 red chilies (seeded and cut into chunks)
- 1 stalk lemongrass (cut bottom third into rings)
- ½ tsp toasted belacan
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup water (240ml)
- 2 tsp tamarind concentrate
- 2 tbsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)
- ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1 tbsp dark caramel soy sauce (optional)***
Instructions
Peanut Sauce
- Baked peanuts at 350⁰F/180⁰C for 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, transfer to a blender and process until fine. Remove and set aside.
- Blend garlic, shallots, red chilies, lemongrass, and toasted belacan into a spice paste.
- In a medium saucepan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Add spice paste and stir fry for 3 minutes. Pour in water.
- Add tamarind concentrate and ground peanuts. Bring sauce to a boil.
- Add palm sugar and salt. Also, add dark caramel soy sauce if using.*** Continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Turn off stove.
Pressed Rice (Nasi Himpit)
- Wash and drain rice 3 to 4 times in a small saucepan. Then add 1½ cups (360ml) water. When water comes to a boil, add salt. Cook rice on the stove until all water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Turn off stove and allow rice to cool.
- Transfer cooked rice onto a double layer of plastic shrink wrap. Roll up the rice with the shrink wrap and tighten the roll by twisting both ends. Set aside until ready to use.
- When ready to use, remove shrink wrap and cut rice log into 3/8th inch thick slices. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a nonstick fry pan. Add rice cake slices and pan fry for 3 minutes. Flip rice cake and drizzle another tablespoon vegetable oil over the rice cake. Pan fry for another 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Cook Potatoes, Eggs, Tofu, Tempeh, and Keropok
- Scrub and boiled baby potatoes in lightly salted water for 12 to 15 minutes until tender. Drain and peel when cool enough to handle. Cut into bite size pieces.
- Boil eggs for 7 minutes. Remove and plunge into cold water. Peel and cut into halves.
- Cut baked tofu and tempeh into 1½”x½”x¼” slices. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a nonstick fry pan. Add baked tofu slices and pan fry each side for 2 minutes. Remove.
- Do the same for tempeh with remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.
- Microwave keropok (fish or shrimp crackers) for 1 to 2 minutes depending on the size of the crackers. If they are large pieces, break into smaller pieces.
Blanch Vegetables
- Bring a small pot of water to boil. Blanch mungbean sprouts for 10 seconds and plunge into cold water bath.
- Drain well. Blanch prepared green beans and long beans for 1to 2 minutes each. Plunge into cold water bath and drain well.
Putting The Salad Together
- Arrange all prepared ingredients on a large platter with peanut sauce and fried shallots in separate bowls. Break keropok (fish or shrimp crackers) over the salad. Place a few serving tongs close by for serving.
- Allow each person to pick what they want from the platter with tongs and drizzle some peanut sauce over their salad.
Notes
Nutrition
A Meal In Itself
This Gado-Gado Salad is definitely a meal in itself complete with protein in the eggs, tempeh, and tofu. There is 45g of protein in the package of 8 oz/227g of tempeh and 34g of protein in the package of 7 oz/198g of baked tofu used in this recipe. Of course, when you divide this by 8 (recipe serves 8), it may not meet your daily needs. Feel free to serve a piece of meat with this salad. 😉 I recommend this Ayam Panggang Kunyit (Grilled Turmeric Chicken). 🙂
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