Growing up, I was never a big vegetable eater. When I was in the Navy, not only did I not have a choice but to eat what I was served, but I also learned to like vegetables! Gado Gado was one of those vegetable dishes that caused me to start liking vegetables. The delicious peanut sauce, in the beginning, was my favorite part, but over time, I started to really enjoy these bright and flavorful vegetables!
Gado Gado: Indonesian Vegetable Dish with Peanut Sauce
This delicious gado gado recipe, an Indonesian vegetable dish served with peanut sauce will go great with any rijsttafel, but you can also serve it at a summer picnic since the vegetables are traditionally eaten at room temperature. This vegetarian recipe is easy to make, and the sauce makes it accessible even to people who aren't big vegetable eaters!
Slice the shallots, and add them to the food processor.
Peel the garlic, and slice the cloves. Add them to the food processor.
Peel the ginger, slice it, and add it to the food processor.
Add the sambal, salt, and brown sugar to the food processor.
Process until it forms a thick paste without any visible chunks of shallot, ginger, or garlic. You may have to scrape it off the sides of the bowl from time to time.
Bruise the lemongrass by gently hitting it with a mallet or another heavy object.
Make Peanut Sauce
First, we're going to fry up the spice paste. We'll fry it in coconut milk. Try to get one tablespoon of the thickest cream layer of the coconut milk, and add it to a large, heavy-bottom saucepan.
Over medium-high heat, melt the coconut milk. It'll bubble for a while, as the coconut water boils out. Once it stops bubbling vigorously, add the spice paste to the pan.
Stirring constantly, fry up the paste for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the peanut butter, the rest of the coconut milk, the lime juice, and the lemongrass.
Bring the sauce to a boil, and then let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally, you want to prevent the peanut sauce from baking onto the bottom of the pan.
If the sauce is too thick add water (I added approximately 250ml of water). Make sure to let it simmer for at least 5 minutes after adding water.
Skim off the excess oil, and remove the lemongrass from the sauce.
Cooking the vegetables
If necessary, peel and cut the potatoes, and add them to a heavy-bottom saucepan. Cover with water, until the water level is approximately 2.5cm (1") above the potatoes. Add some salt, and bring to a boil, and then let it cook until the potatoes are fork-tender. Put the potatoes in a bowl.
Make sure there's enough water in the pot, and bring it to a boil. Add the cabbage, and blanch it for 2 minutes. Remove from the pan, and add to a bowl.
Make sure the water is boiling, and add the green beans, and blanch them for 4 minutes. Add to a bowl.
Bring the water back to a boil, and blanch the bean sprouts for 30 seconds. Add to a bowl.
Plating
Peel, seed, and cut the cucumber into thick chunks.
On a platter, place the blanched vegetables and cucumber. I like to alternate the green and white vegetables.
Pour the peanut sauce over the vegetables, and top with some crispy onions.
Serve with some hard-boiled eggs on the plate, next to the vegetables.
