Indonesian Vegetable Salad with Peanut Sauce (Gado-Gado)
By Sara MayerPublished on April 1, 2019
Time
1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes cooling
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Dressing
2 tablespoons red curry paste 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 3 garlic cloves, minced½ cup coconut milk ⅓ cup water ¼ cup chunky peanut butter 2 tablespoons fish sauce substitute (see note)4 teaspoons dark brown sugar 1 tablespoon tamarind paste 2 teaspoons sriracha ¼ cup dry-roasted peanuts, choppedSalad
12 ounces small red potatoes, unpeeled1 tablespoon salt 8 ounces green beans, trimmed8 ounces cauliflower florets, cut into 1-inch pieces½ small green cabbage, cored and sliced thin (6 cups)1 cucumber, peeled and sliced ½ inch thick4 hard-cooked eggs, halved lengthwiseBefore You Begin
For the fish sauce substitute, use either Bragg's Amino Acids or our vegetarian fish sauce substitute recipe.
Instructions
- Cook curry paste, oil, and garlic in small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often, until mixture begins to stick to pan bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in coconut milk, water, peanut butter, fish sauce, sugar, tamarind, and sriracha. Bring to simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook until slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to bowl and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Stir in peanuts.
- Place potatoes and salt in large saucepan and add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes are just tender and paring knife can be slipped in and out of potatoes with little resistance, 10 to 15 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to baking sheet lined with several layers of paper towels and let drain.
- Return cooking water to boil over high heat, add green beans, and cook until just tender, 4 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer beans to colander and rinse under cold running water to cool; transfer to baking sheet with potatoes.
- Return cooking water to boil over high heat, add cauliflower, and cook until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer cauliflower to colander and rinse under cold running water to cool; transfer to baking sheet with potatoes and beans.
- Divide cabbage among individual plates. Cut potatoes into ½-inch wedges. Arrange potatoes, beans, cauliflower, cucumbers, and eggs over cabbage and drizzle liberally with dressing. Serve with remaining dressing.
for the dressing
for the salad
Time
1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes coolingYield
Serves 4Ingredients
Dressing
Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
Salad
Why This Recipe Works
Literally translated as “mix-mix,” gado-gado is a popular Indonesian salad that pairs a variety of steamed, seasonal vegetables, cabbage, and hard-cooked eggs with a creamy coconut milk–based peanut sauce. For our version, we wanted to streamline the cooking process for the myriad salad components and come up with some completely vegetarian substitutes. To make the peanut sauce, we combined coconut milk with sautéed minced garlic and red curry paste, which packs the flavorings of lemon grass, shallots, makrut lime, and chile in a convenient package. A fish sauce substitute along with brown sugar approximated the flavor of fermented shrimp paste and sweetened soy sauce, two more typical ingredients. A little sriracha provided the requisite heat and chile flavor, and tamarind paste lent a tart fruitiness. To give the sauce plenty of peanut flavor, we used chunky peanut butter, then added a garnish of freshly chopped peanuts for texture. Finally, for the vegetables, we kept things simple by simmering small red potatoes in a saucepan until tender, then blanching green beans and cauliflower in the same water. Shredded cabbage and sliced cucumber, plus the traditional hard-cooked eggs, rounded out the salad.
Before You Begin
For the fish sauce substitute, use either Bragg's Amino Acids or our vegetarian fish sauce substitute recipe.
Instructions
- Cook curry paste, oil, and garlic in small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often, until mixture begins to stick to pan bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in coconut milk, water, peanut butter, fish sauce, sugar, tamarind, and sriracha. Bring to simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook until slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to bowl and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Stir in peanuts.
- Place potatoes and salt in large saucepan and add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes are just tender and paring knife can be slipped in and out of potatoes with little resistance, 10 to 15 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to baking sheet lined with several layers of paper towels and let drain.
- Return cooking water to boil over high heat, add green beans, and cook until just tender, 4 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer beans to colander and rinse under cold running water to cool; transfer to baking sheet with potatoes.
- Return cooking water to boil over high heat, add cauliflower, and cook until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer cauliflower to colander and rinse under cold running water to cool; transfer to baking sheet with potatoes and beans.
- Divide cabbage among individual plates. Cut potatoes into ½-inch wedges. Arrange potatoes, beans, cauliflower, cucumbers, and eggs over cabbage and drizzle liberally with dressing. Serve with remaining dressing.
for the dressing
for the salad
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