I Cook Coz Cocaine Is Illegal

Not ever being pregnant but, having crazy food cravings like a woman with child is one of my best skills. I have already been warned by my dear husband, that if I even think I can request any crazy food cravings when I do get pregnant – its not happening. I’ve apparently cashed them ALL in Pre-Pregnancy stage.  😛

Gado-Gado was one of the random cravings awhile back and I whipped this up for a weeknight dinner. You’re probably gasping at this point, wondering ‘HOW’ did she do this on a work night? Well, in all honestly,  the thing that was time consuming was the chopping of the vegetables (which I did the day ahead and wrapped and kept in the fridge). The peanut sauce can definitely made earlier (frozen or refrigerated then re-heated in the microwave before serving) but, if time permits I do prefer to make it fresh on the day of serving.

Gado-Gado is a warm Indonesian salad dish served with a peanut dressing (much like a satay sauce).  Its a healthy mid-week alternative to all the stir fries, pastas, noodles and rice and will definitely get you a good serving of vegetables! I hope you enjoy my recipe and it packs a punch for you. Tip: Its all in the peanut sauce!! 🙂

 

 

Prep: 40mins (veggies)
Cooking Sauce: 30mins

Ingredients

Fresh Vegetables
Lettuce, chopped into small pieces (Not to be cooked)
1 Cucumber, Sliced in to angled chunks
2 Tomatoes, cubed

Par-Boiled Vegetables

Green Beans, cut into 1.5cm length
Carrots, cut into odd shaped pieces

Fully Boiled

Potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Hard Boiled Eggs, cut into quarters
1 packet firm tofu, cut into cubes
Rice Cake (Lontong/Ketupat)
Fried Tempeh, cut into bite size pieces
Fried Shallots, garnish (optional)
Melinjo nuts crackers
Shrimp crackers

Peanut Sauce
8 Dried Chilli (deseeded & soaked)
2 Shallots, coarsely chopped
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Lemongress (white part), coarsely chopped
3 Galangal Slices
1cm Knob of Ginger, grated
1/4 cup oil
1 Cup Water
1 tsp Chili Powder
1/3 cup Crunchy Peanut Butter
2 Tbsp Tamarind puree (Soak in 4Tbsp of hot water to get the puree/paste-like texture)
2 Tbsp Palm Sugar, Grated
1/4 cup Unsalted Peanuts, chopped coarsely
Salt to taste

OR IF YOU’RE LAZY……..

Buy readymade satay peanut sauce (preferably, Ayam Brand)

Or as an alternative to my recipe, I’ve also made this delicious Peanut sauce from Rasa Malaysia before:-

Rasa Malaysia – Satay Peanut Sauce

Method

1. Chop veggies up to bite size pieces.

2. Prepare the satay peanut sauce as per recipe linked above or use the pre-made Satay sauce.

3. Pan fry tofu so they have a slight golden crust and then fry tempeh till its golden.

4. Par-boil veggies in lightly salted water in groups (ie. beans first, then carrots, etc.) Cook potatoes last or first (and then replace the water) as it makes the water very starchy to be cooking other veggies in.

Cook the veggies to the point that you can bite through them easily and it still has a slight crunch except the potatoes. You want those suckers cooked through coz otherwise, you’re up there with those weirdos that eat Medium-Rare Chicken.

5. Layer the the veggies in a deep serving platter or use your roasting pan like I did (pictured below).

6. Dish up the Gado-Gado on to your plate and drizzle with the peanut sauce and ENJOY!!

 

Peanut Sauce Method

1.  In a food processor, blitz the Chili, Shallots, Garlic, Lemongrass, Galangal and Ginger until its a smooth paste.
2. Add the oil to medium heated pan and then add blended spice paste. Fry till fragrant and slightly darker in colour.
3. Add Peanut Butter, Tamarind paste, Palm Sugar and 1 cup of water to loosen the mixure. Let mixture come to a simmer and stir occasionally.
4. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10-15minutes until the sauce thickens and the Oil is on the surface of the sauce.
5. Taste and balance seasoning with salt.
6. Serve warm over Gado-Gado.