Gado gado (Indonesian salad with peanut sauce)

Gado gado is probably the best known Indonesian salad, and for good reason with it's tasty mix of vegetables smothered in a flavor-packed peanut sauce. It's hearty enough to be a full meal but also well balanced and not too heavy. Perfect as a light summer's meal (or any excuse).

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I've mentioned before that I am a little so-so on the idea of salad in the most traditional sense, but I'm a big fan of salads that are more than just greens and a couple of additions. Many Asian salads are much more in line with my tastes, from Thai pomelo salad to Vietnamese chicken salad, and this one is another I love.

Yes, there are some green elements, but it also has potato, egg and less salad-y vegetables like beans. Then there's that amazing sauce that brings it all together. 

Where is gado gado from?

This salad, as mentioned above, is from Indonesia, though exactly where is a little unclear. Some believe it is a Sundanese dish as it's particularly popular in Java, but you will find it across the country. In fact, it has been listed as one of the five national dishes, along with rendang, nasi goreng, satay/sate and soto.

Different regions have slight variations in the ingredients, with some a little simpler than others. Gado gado Surabaya typically includes coconut milk in the sauce while others use water. The Padang version often includes noodles and tends to be more spicy. Some of the variation is down to taste and what you have, too.

What does gado gado mean?

There are two aspects to this salad's name. Gado gado literally means "mix, mix" in Indonesian. But also, gado comes from "digado” and “menggado” in the Jakartan language Betawi meaning “to eat without rice.” Both are generally true of this salad, though you can, and sometimes do, serve this alongside rice to make a full meal. 

While part of the point of this salad is that you can adapt it to what you have, you typically have a few key components:

• A mix of steamed, cooked and raw vegetables
• Peanut sauce
• Fried tempeh and/or tofu
• Hard boiled eggs
• Crackers and fried shallots to top.

This combination gives a lovely balance of freshness, as well as heartier protein. The smooth sauce to bring it together and the toppings to give a bit of added crunch. 

Yes, there are a few components, but each is easy to make and parts can be prepared ahead. You can also adapt the salad ingredients to what you have or prefer.

For example, you typically include a "green" like blanched cabbage or large-leaf spinach but I completely forgot to include in the main photos here and it was still delicious. Anther time, as below, I used cabbage and tempeh rather than tofu and tomatoes, as in the other photos. Some add chayote squash, or grated carrots. Vary as suits. 

About some of the ingredients

Most of the ingredients here are easy to find, like potatoes, green beans, bean sprouts and eggs. But a couple might be a little less common, and ideas for substitutions:

• Tofu and/or tempeh - you typically include one or both of fried tofu or tempeh, cut into pieces. Tofu is pretty widely available these days - you want firm to be easier to fry - and tempeh is starting to be more readily available. It's also made from soy beans, but fermented, and if available would be near the tofu in the store. Use what you have or prefer, or if you like you can skip though they are great at taking on the sauce flavors.
• Fried or roasted peanuts - you are looking for unsalted peanuts. If you manage to find them in an Asian store, they typically have the inner shell still on. You can also use as I had here which is unsalted, roasted peanuts that I then fried a little to add a bit more flavor (but you can skip that part). You can replace with peanut butter, smooth or crunchy, but use unsalted, unsweetened since you will be seasoning the sauce.
• Kecap manis - this is Indonesian sweet soy sauce, popular in many Indonesian recipes, such as nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice). It's actually more available than you might realize once you start to look for it, but you can also make your own by warming equal parts soy sauce and brown sugar until they thicken, sometimes with additions like garlic for flavor.
• Tamarind - this adds a lovely relatively tart flavor to the sauce. Ideally, you start with a block of pulp and soak a chunk with hot water. Squeeze to get all the flavor from it, then strain. But you can also use concentrate, though use far less (about a third) as it is stronger and often not as balanced a flavor. If you can't find either, then skip and use a little extra lime juice. 
• Shrimp/prawn crackers - these are to a point an optional addition, but they're worth hunting down! You are looking for Indonesian shrimp crackers, kerupuk udang. I recommend getting the dry discs and frying your own. This way, you can cook just a few at a time as you need them and save for another time. Though they are addictively good, so easy to snack on if you buy ready-to-eat. Some use other Indonesian crackers like emping but I'm not as big a fan of the flavor, personally.
• Fried shallots - not hard to find, per se, but worth noting. These are another popular component in Indonesian cooking. You can buy them or fry your own. You could skip but they're so flavorful, they are worth adding. 

Making peanut sauce for gado gado

You'll find a number of dishes in Indonesian cuisine that use a peanut sauce, and the exact ingredients usually varies between the different dishes, as well as different regions and cooks. Some will be thicker, others thinner, depending how they are used. And you may have different flavors coming through, too. 

The base of all is fried or roasted peanuts. You then add lime juice and tamarind for tartness, and palm sugar (or you can use coconut or brown sugar) and kecap manis, sweet soy sauce, for sweetness. The sauce is traditionally a bit spicy from chili, though you can skip this if it works better for your eaters (like mine). It will still be full of flavor.

Traditionally, you grind the peanuts and any other more solid ingredients with a pestle and mortar. But a food processor or blender makes things quicker, then you easily blend in the rest.

After combining the ingredients, you thin out the sauce with hot water to get the consistency you want. Though bear in mind it will thicken a bit as it cools. You can add a little coconut milk for a richer sauce, as you'll find in some regions, though it's delicious, and more peanut-y, without.

Preparing ahead

You can prepare most of the components of this salad ahead of time, like making hard boiled eggs, blanching the vegetables and making the peanut sauce. Each can be stored in the fridge until you are ready to use them for a day or two. 

Then, chop up the raw vegetables, peel and chop the hard boiled eggs and arrange everything in your bowl. You may need to warm the sauce slightly to help it be more fluid,. Alternatively, add a little extra hot water. 

Gado gado is a classic Indonesian salad with peanut sauce that's wonderfully adaptable, versatile, flavorful and full of texture. It's perfect for lunch or a light meal, particularly on a warm day, but is so delicious, you'll want to enjoy it any excuse you can.

Try these other tasty salads:

• Nam khao (Lao crispy rice salad with herbs and nuts)
• Fattoush salad (Levantine salad with sumac dressing and pita chips)
• Ensaladilla rusa (Spanish potato salad)
• Plus get more lunch recipes and Southeast Asian recipes in the archives.

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

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