Gado Gado

One of the most famous of Indonesian dishes, Gado Gado is a mixture of cooked and raw vegetables, topped with a peanut sauce that varies in heat from a mild tingle to scorching. It is essentially a salad but one that is served as a main course and has a substantial filling effect. The only departure from tradition in this version is that usually, hard boiled eggs are crumbled and sprinkled over the top as a garnish. The satay sauce can be made quite easily following the directions given below, but it can also be bought with good results from south east asian foodstores. Recommended brand is EE brand from Indonesia (small brown box with a plastic package inside), but the tinned brands come in a close second. Emping is listed as one of the garnishes. This is a type of cracker made from Melinjo nuts and can only be found in Indonesian stores along with the Krupuk (prawn crackers) which are used in the same manner.

Sambal Kacang or Bumbu Satay (Peanut Sauce)

1/2 cup peanut oil or canola oil for frying
1 1/3 cup raw peanuts unsalted
2 cloves garlic chopped
4 shallots chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne chilli powder
1/2 tsp. palm sugar or brown sugar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 cups water
1 tbsp. tamarind water or juice of 1 lemon

Stir fry the peanuts in the oil for approximately 2-4 minutes until beginning to turn golden brown. Remove the peanuts with a slotted spoon and drain in a colander until cool. Then grind the nuts into a fine powder using a blender, food processor, coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. Throw away the oil except for 1 tbsp.

Crush the garlic and shallots with the salt in a mortar and pestle and then fry in the remaining oil for 1 minute. Add the chilli powder, sugar, soy sauce and the water. After it boils, add the ground peanuts and simmer until the sauce becomes thick stirring occasionally. This should take about 8-10 minutes. Add the tamarind water or lemon juice and stir.

When the mixture has cooled, place in a sealed jar and refrigerate until needed. Keeps for 1 week and can be reheated in minutes.

The Vegetables

1 cup cabbage, shredded
2 cups green beans, cut into 1 cm. lengths
4 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup cauliflower cut into florets
1 cup mungbean sprouts, washed

Boil the the cabbage, green beans, carrots and cauliflower in lightly salted boiling water for 1 minute. Add the mungbean sprouts and continue boiling for 2 more minutes. Drain in a colander (keep the water to boil the potato in-see the garnish) and allow to cool to room temperature.

The Garnish

1 medium sized potato
2 tbsp. shallots, peeled and chopped
1 head lettuce, washed
1 cup watercress
1/2 cucumber sliced thinly
handful of fried, crumbled Emping (optional)

In the same water as used to boil the vegetables, you can boil the potato in its skin for 10 minutes until soft, and then drain and allow the potato to cool. Once it is cool enough to handle, peel the skin and cut into slices approx 1/2 cm. thick. Fry the shallots in a little oil until they turn a rich, crispy caramelized golden brown (3-5 minutes). Drain on a paper towel and set aside.

The Assembly

Arrange whole lettuce leaves and watercress around the edge of a serving dish. Pile the cooked vegetables in the middle of the dish. Arrange the potato slices and cucumber on top of the vegetables. Heat the Sambal Kacang in a small saucepan until hot adding more water if it is too thick. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and sprinkle the shallots and emping over the top and serve.