Hey Alex, this is for you! Alex asked for something “spicy, vegetarian and nutty.” So here it is. Gado Gado.
Alex D’Agostino is a friend of my son Russell. He invited his friends to make requests for recipes. They give me three adjectives and I’ll work out a recipe for them.
Gado Gado fits the description. It’s Indonesian and Malaysian and we also have it in Singapore. Basically it’s a salad–of cooked potato, string bean, cabbage, bean sprout, cucumber, onion–and topped with a spicy peanut satay sauce. I love lots of peanuts in my satay sauce.
This dish sometimes comes with tofu that is deep fried, but I didn’t want to deep fry tofu so I decided to use tempeh instead. Tempeh, I think, is an acquired taste; the more I eat it the more I like it. There is nothing like Indonesian tempeh but I think Trader Joe’s Organic 3 Grain Tempeh is quite good. Give it a try. I cut it in narrow strips and pan fried it. Just be ready to flip the pieces over quickly; it gets brown very quickly.
The most important ingredient to Gado Gado is the satay sauce. A good satay sauce takes a little work but, Alex, it’s totally doable. The good thing about this sauce is you can make it a day before. Heat it up to a warm temperature just before dribbling it over the salad. I’ve posted on Satay Sauce before–click here for recipe.
Gado Gado
Makes 4 servings of side salad or 2 servings of entree sizes
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
1 red potato, peeled and cut in 1-inch cubes
6 ounces cabbage, cut in small pieces
6 ounces string beans, cut in 1-inch strips
4 ounces bean sprouts
1 packet tempeh, cut into ¼-inch thick slices
1 tablespoon oil
1 small cucumber, cut into ¼-inch thick circles
¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
¼ cup chopped roasted peanut
2 cups Satay Sauce
Boil potato, cabbage and string beans until just tender. Drain well. Blanch bean sprout and drain well.
In a pan, heat oil and fry tempeh slices on one side until lightly brown, about 30-40 seconds. Flip tempeh over and fry other side. Transfer to paper towel to cool.
Make Satay Sauce. For recipe, click here.
In a large salad bowl, place potato, cabbage, string beans, and bean sprout. Top with tempeh, cucumber and red onions. Pour Satay Sauce over salad. Garnish with chopped peanut.
VARIATIONS
–I blanched the bean sprout but you can leave it raw if you like.
–Instead of cabbage, you could use romaine wedges.
–Use fried tofu instead of tempeh.
–Add hard boiled egg.
PLATING SUGGESTIONS
You can serve this in a large salad bowl, or make individual servings. I divided mine into individual portions.
Glossary of Ingredients
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