Gado-gado (Indonesian Salad with Peanut Sauce)

Introduction

Gado-gado is an Indonesian vegetable salad unified by a rich peanut sauce—a dish that works equally well as a light lunch or a substantial side. The combination of blanched and fried vegetables with hard-boiled eggs and crispy tempeh gives you multiple textures in every bite, while the warm, slightly spiced peanut sauce ties everything together without making the plate heavy.

Recipe Details

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 70 minutes
• Servings: 4

Ingredients

Peanut sauce

• 1 g terasi (fermented prawn paste)
• Vegetable oil
• 300 g peanuts
• Fresh or dried chile pepper
• 1 clove garlic
• Salt
• 125 g gula jawa (Indonesian palm sugar)
• 4 shallots
• Sugar
• Fresh lime juice or rice vinegar

Salad

• Hard-boiled eggs, sliced
• Whole potatoes, steamed or boiled
• Mixed vegetables (e.g. cabbage, bean sprouts, cucumber, chayote, water spinach, asparagus bean, spinach)
• Deep fried soybean cake
• Deep fried tempeh
• Deep fried kerupuk (fish or prawn crackers)
• Deep fried shallot

Instructions

Peanut sauce

1. Fry prawn paste with vegetable oil until fragrant.
2. Fry the peanuts until golden brown. Remove from the pan and leave to cool, then drain off all but a little of the excess oil.
3. Grind the peanuts to a paste.
4. Add ground chili pepper, garlic, salt, sugar, and prawn paste to the peanut paste. Grind to mix.
5. Put peanut paste in a pan, add some water to dissolve (use coconut milk for a richer taste).
6. Add additional sugar into the peanut sauce to taste, and bring to the boil.
7. Simmer peanut sauce until thick, and season with the lime juice or vinegar.

Salad

1. Remove the skin from the boiled potatoes. Deep fry the potatoes until golden brown, then slice.
2. Wash, shred, or chop cabbage, spinach, and water spinach.
3. Boil water in a pan. Add cabbage, and cook until tender. Drain.
4. Use strained boiling water to boil the spinach and water spinach, one after another. Drain.
5. Blanch bean sprouts for about 30 seconds. Drain.
6. Peel chayote, wash, slice, and boil until tender.
7. Wash and slice cucumber.
8. Place the salad, sliced potatoes, fried tofu, fried tempeh, and eggs in a large plate, either randomly or in layers.
9. Pour the peanut sauce over the salad.
10. Spread deep fried shallots on top, and serve with kerupuk.

Variations

Use crushed peanut butter instead of whole peanuts: If you can’t find whole roasted peanuts, mix natural unsweetened peanut butter with a small amount of oil to reach a similar consistency. This cuts prep time and yields a slightly smoother sauce.

Swap the palm sugar for light brown sugar: The result will be slightly less complex in flavor but still caramelly and balanced; use the same weight and taste as you go.

Add coconut milk from the start: Replace some of the water in step 5 with unsweetened coconut milk to build richness throughout the cooking rather than as an optional upgrade. This makes the sauce naturally creamier without extra fat.

Include boiled corn kernels or green beans: Add these to the mixed vegetable plate alongside the cucumber and chayote for sweetness and different texture contrast.

Make it vegetarian: Replace the prawn paste with an equal amount of soy sauce mixed with a pinch of umeboshi (pickled plum) paste, which adds the same savory depth without animal products.

Tips for Success

Taste the sauce aggressively as it simmers: The balance of sweet, salty, spicy, and sour is crucial here. Start with less sugar and lime juice than you think you need, then add gradually. A teaspoon of extra lime juice can rescue an over-sweet batch.

Don’t skip cooling the fried peanuts before grinding: They release oil more readily when warm, and you’ll end up with a slick paste rather than a textured one. Spread them on paper towels for at least 5 minutes.

Cook each vegetable separately, in the same water: Reusing the boiling water for spinach and water spinach saves time and heat. Blanch bean sprouts last in fresh water so their delicate texture doesn’t absorb flavors from previous vegetables.

Assemble the plate no more than 30 minutes before serving: The fried elements will soften as the warm sauce sits on them. If you must make it ahead, dress only the cooler vegetables, then add sauce and crispy components just before eating.

Keep the peanut sauce warm but not simmering: Once it reaches the right thickness, drop the heat to low. Continued boiling can separate the oil and thicken it past the point where it coats the vegetables properly.

Storage and Reheating

Store the peanut sauce separately from the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The cooked vegetables keep for 2 days in the fridge, but the fried components (tempeh, tofu, potatoes, shallots, kerupuk) are best eaten the day they’re made—they lose their crispness after that.

Reheat the sauce gently in a small pot over low heat, stirring in a splash of water if it has thickened too much during storage. Warm the vegetables either in the microwave (covered, 1–2 minutes) or briefly in a steamer to avoid sogginess. Assemble the plate fresh and serve warm sauce over room-temperature vegetables if you prefer a lighter texture.

This dish does not freeze well; the texture of the vegetables becomes mushy upon thawing, and the fried elements become soggy.

FAQ

Can I make the peanut sauce ahead?

Yes. The sauce tastes slightly better the next day as the flavors meld. Make it up to 3 days in advance, store it in an airtight container in the fridge, and reheat gently before serving.

What if I can’t find terasi?

Terasi adds a savory umami note. Replace it with an equal amount of soy sauce or fish sauce, which will give you the same depth. Reduce the salt in the recipe by half and taste before adding more.

Do I need to fry the potatoes, or can I just boil them?

Frying gives the potatoes a crispy exterior and better contrast with the soft vegetables and sauce. If you skip frying, the dish becomes softer overall and less interesting texturally. If you want to avoid deep frying, you can shallow-fry them in 1 cm of oil instead.

How spicy will this be?

The heat depends entirely on how much chile pepper you add and its variety. Start with half a fresh chile or a quarter teaspoon of dried chile powder, mix it into the sauce, taste, and add more if needed. Remember that the sauce will be served warm, which brings out the heat more than a cool environment does.