The Best of Indonesian Food (Gado-Gado)

Gado-gado is a traditional dish in Indonesian cuisine, and is a vegetable salad served with a peanut sauce dressing, eaten as a main dish. It is widely served from hawkers carts, stalls (warung) as well as in restaurants both in Indonesia and worldwide.

Gado-gado is part of a wide range of Indonesian dressing & salad combinations, along with lotek, pecel and karedok. In many places, to retain authenticity in both the production and flavor, the peanut sauce is made in individual batches, in front of the customers. However, since the dish has gained popularity (because of the increase of Asian-themed restaurants) Gado-gado sauce is now mostly made ahead of time and cooked in bulk, although this is probably more common in Western restaurants rather than in Indonesia. Compared to Western and Indonesian salads, Gado-gado has much more sauce in it. Instead of being used as a light dressing, the vegetables should be well coated in the sauce.

Many stores now offer Gado-Gado dressing in dried blocks to which you simply add hot water, making it easier and cheaper to cook at home.

A traditional Indonesian way of making gado-gado.

The exact composition of the vegetable salad varies, but usually comprises some form of mixture of:

• blanched - shredded, chopped, or sliced green vegetables (such as cabbage, kang-kung), bean sprouts, young boiled jack fruit, string bean, bitter melon, and corn (outside of Indonesia, people improvize with whatever vegetables that are available). uncooked - sliced cucumber and lettuce.

• fried tofu and tempeh.

• sliced boiled potatoes.

• peeled and sliced boiled eggs.

The authentic gado-gado does not have carrot and tomatoes. Only the aforementioned vegetables are added to the dish.

Gado-gado stall displaying ingredients of the dish.

What distinguishes gado-gado from a plain vegetable salad is the peanut sauce dressing, which is poured on top of the vegetable salad before serving. The composition of this peanut sauce varies as well. One may use a commercial Indonesian peanut sauce or satay sauce, or make the sauce oneself. For making the sauce, the common primary ingredients are as follows:

• ground fried peanuts (kidney beans may be substituted for a richer taste)

• coconut sugar/palm sugar (can substitute brown sugar)

• chillies (according to taste)

• limo lime juice

• terasi (dried shrimp paste)

• tamarind water

• water to dilute

Note the above is for Jakarta style gado-gado. Gado-gado is always served with some kind of crackers, usually tapioca crackers, or also with Emping (Indonesian style fried crackers, which are made from melinjo)

In Indonesia, Gado-gado is usually served with rice or lontong (rice cake wrapped in banana leaf).