Gado Gado

Since starting shift work a few months ago I have found I am very food driven.  I often get through the last few hours of my shift by planning what I will eat when I get home.   At the end of my last night shift I got a terrible craving for gado gado, an Indonesian salad with a spicy peanut dressing.  While travelling in Indonesia this was a staple in our diet and each spot made it a bit different.  Many recipes blanch the vegetables beforehand but I prefer the crunch of leaving them raw.  I adapted this recipe from indochine kitchen to suite my taste and liking.  The recipe uses some Indonesian ingredients that you should be able to find at home but can be substituted if needed.

Gado Gado (serves 4)

Salad:

4 cups thinly sliced cabbage

3-5 lettuce leaves cut into small pieces

1 medium cucumber peeled, quartered and sliced

2 cups bean sprouts

2-3 green onions sliced

20 Krupuk (dried shrimp crackers-optional)

125 g tofu cut into thirds

Dressing:

1 clove of garlic

1-2 tsp of sambal (chili paste or use any hot sauce)

¼ tsp salt

4 tsp (20g) palm sugar (or brown sugar)

3 heaping tbsp natural crunchy peanut butter

½ tsp Ketjup Manis (or regular soy sauce)

Juice of ½ a lime

½- 1 cup of water

Start by combining the cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, sprout and onion in a bowl and set a side.

Heat oil in a wok and add tofu, fry till brown on both side.  Remove from oil and let cool of paper towel before slicing into cubes.  Add cubes to salad mixture.

Bring the oil back up to temperature and fry the shrimp crackers 5 at a time, this will only take seconds, remove crackers before they begin brown and cool on paper towel to absorb any excess oil.  Set aside.

In a mortar and pestle or food processor add the garlic, chili paste, salt and palm sugar.  Pound or process until well combined.  Add the peanut butter and mix till combined.  Stir in the Ketjup and lime juice.  Slowly stir in the water a little bit at a time until the dressing is thin enough to pour. 

Portion salad and rice crackers into 4 bowls and pass around the dressing.  If you are not planning to eat it all in one sitting, I would recommend keeping the salad and dressing separate until you are ready to eat again.