Indonesia · Composed vegetable meal

Gado-Gado

Name: Gado-Gado
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indonesian
Ingredients: 400 g waxy potatoes, scrubbed; 4 large eggs; 200 g firm tofu, pressed and cut into 3 cm pieces; 200 g tempeh, cut into 1 cm slices; 3 tablespoons neutral oil (45 ml), divided; 200 g green beans, trimmed and cut into 5 cm lengths; 250 g white cabbage, cut into broad ribbons; 150 g bean sprouts, rinsed and drained; 1 medium cucumber (about 300 g), sliced; 150 g unsalted roasted peanuts; 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 1 red chile, seeded for less heat and roughly chopped; 20 g palm sugar, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons tamarind water (30 ml; steep 30 g tamarind pulp in 60 ml hot water for 5 minutes, strain, then measure 30 ml); 2 tablespoons kecap manis (30 ml); 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt; 200 ml hot water, plus more as needed; 3 tablespoons crisp fried shallots; 60 g emping or plain cassava crackers, for serving

Blanched vegetables, potato, golden tofu, tempeh and egg arranged beneath a warm peanut sauce sharpened with tamarind and deepened with kecap manis.

Jump to recipe

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 1 hr 15 min
Serves: 4
Role: Main course

Why each component is cooked separately

Many components, one decisive sauce

The vegetables keep different textures. Beans, cabbage and sprouts are blanched separately, while cucumber remains raw and cool.

Tofu and tempeh are treated as distinct ingredients. Browning gives both crisp edges before the sauce arrives, with tempeh retaining its firmer, nutty structure.

The sauce balances before it reaches the platter. Peanut, palm sugar, tamarind, chile and kecap manis are tasted together, then loosened to coat rather than bury.

The recipe

Ingredients

For 4 servings

400 g waxy potatoes, scrubbed
4 large eggs
200 g firm tofu, pressed and cut into 3 cm pieces
200 g tempeh, cut into 1 cm slices
3 tablespoons neutral oil (45 ml), divided
200 g green beans, trimmed and cut into 5 cm lengths
250 g white cabbage, cut into broad ribbons
150 g bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
1 medium cucumber (about 300 g), sliced
150 g unsalted roasted peanuts
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 red chile, seeded for less heat and roughly chopped
20 g palm sugar, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tamarind water (30 ml; steep 30 g tamarind pulp in 60 ml hot water for 5 minutes, strain, then measure 30 ml)
2 tablespoons kecap manis (30 ml)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
200 ml hot water, plus more as needed
3 tablespoons crisp fried shallots
60 g emping or plain cassava crackers, for serving

Allergen note: this recipe contains peanuts, soy and egg; check the crackers and kecap manis for additional allergens. The platter follows the contrast and proportion principles in The Anatomy of a Great Salad.

Method

Build the platter

Cook the potatoes and eggs
Cover the potatoes with cold water, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook until a thin knife meets only slight resistance, 18 to 25 minutes depending on size. In a separate pan, cook the eggs in simmering water for 10 minutes, then cool them in cold water. Drain, cool, peel, and slice both.
Blanch the vegetables separately
Bring a wide pan of water to a steady boil. Cook the green beans until crisp-tender and vivid, about 3 minutes; lift them out and cool. Cook the cabbage for about 2 minutes, then the bean sprouts for 30 seconds. Drain every batch thoroughly so the sauce will cling rather than turn watery.
Brown the tofu and tempeh
Heat 2 tablespoons of the neutral oil in a broad frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the tofu and tempeh in batches, using the remaining oil as needed, until their broad faces are golden and the edges feel crisp. Drain on a rack or absorbent paper.
Make the peanut sauce
Blend or pound the peanuts, garlic, chile, palm sugar, tamarind water, kecap manis, sea salt, and hot water into a textured sauce. Transfer to a saucepan and simmer gently for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring, until glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon. Add hot water a little at a time if it becomes pasty.
Compose and finish the platter
Arrange the potatoes, eggs, tofu, tempeh, green beans, cabbage, bean sprouts, and raw cucumber in distinct sections on a wide platter. Spoon over enough warm peanut sauce to connect the ingredients while leaving their shapes visible. Finish with fried shallots and crackers, and serve extra sauce alongside.

Cook by texture

Every component has its own stopping point

Potato

Stop while slices can hold a clean edge. A crumbling potato makes the sauce floury and blurs the composed platter.

Green beans

Look for vivid color and a flexible snap. Cool them promptly so carryover heat does not take away their bite.

Sprouts

They need only a brief blanch. Drain thoroughly and spread out so trapped steam does not continue cooking them.

Tofu and tempeh

Dry surfaces brown; wet ones steam. Give each piece pan contact and turn only after a golden crust has formed.

Peanut sauce

It should fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon. Tamarind and chile must remain noticeable through the peanut richness.

Crackers

Add them at the table, above the sauce. Their brittle finish is most useful when the rest of the platter is tender and sauced.

A flexible vegetable composition

Gado-gado accommodates local and seasonal vegetables, but flexibility does not mean randomness. A satisfying platter combines cooked greens or cabbage, something crisp and raw, a starchy element, and substantial tofu, tempeh or egg. Each part should be prepared appropriately before the peanut sauce connects them.

Regional and serving variations

Regional forms differ in ingredients and service. Gado-gado siram is associated with sauce poured over the arranged components; other versions mix sauce and vegetables more directly. Lontong or ketupat may add compressed rice cake, and some Jakarta versions use cashews. This recipe uses a poured peanut sauce and potato rather than claiming to represent every form.

About the sauce

Freshly ground roasted peanuts give the sauce texture, while kecap manis contributes sweetness and fermented depth. Tamarind should make the finish lively, not sharply sour. Chile is adjustable, but keep enough savory, sweet and acidic contrast that the sauce tastes complete before it touches the vegetables.

A substantial Indonesian salad

Indonesian cookery writer Sri Owen describes gado-gado as a classic Javanese cooked-vegetable salad and presents the sauce and garnishes as adaptable at the table. Her version demonstrates why the dish is better understood as a full vegetable composition than as raw leaves with dressing.

Research sources: Sri Owen: Gado-Gado and Sambal Kacang; Indonesia Culinary Treasures.