Crunchy, colourful, and full of plant-based protein, gado-gado is a popular salad dish from Indonesia. We like to make up a few extra jars of the peanut dressing from this recipe and pop it in the fridge to spice up our steamed veg, salads, and leftovers. Make as much or as little salad as you like. You can also add a grain like brown rice or quinoa to bulk up this dish.
Ingredients:
For the salad:
- Crispy tofu
- Boiled potatoes
- Pickled red onions
- Bean sprouts
- Coriander
For the dressing:
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 6 shallots, peeled
- 1 stalk of lemongrass, chopped
- 1 large thumb-size piece of ginger
- 2 1⁄2 tablespoons of chilli paste (we used sambal oelek)
- 4 tablespoons of peanut oil
- 225g of Smooth Peanut Butter
- 2 tablespoons of sugar of choice
- 1 teaspoon of flaky sea salt
- 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste
- 250ml coconut milk
Method:
Put the garlic, shallots, lemongrass, ginger, chilli paste and oil into a processor and blitz until you have a thick smooth paste. Tip into a pan and place over a medium heat. Fry, stirring often for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes add the smooth peanut butter, sugar, salt, paprika and tamarind paste and continue to cook for a further minute. Add the coconut milk and stir until combined.
If not very thick, simmer until it reaches the perfect dressing consistency. Remove from the heat and let cool. Store in a sterilised jar in the fridge & before using loosen slightly with a little splash of hot water. Makes approximately 800g of dressing.
Assemble all the salad ingredients in a bowl and finish with a generous drizzle of the dressing.
Pip’s Top Tip: Remember to give your nut butter a good stir before using it, as the oils can naturally separate. This is because there is no palm oil in any of our nut butters, which is often added to stop this natural separation.
