Indonesian Mixed Platter (Gado-Gado)

This exciting, hands-on Indonesian platter ties together a variety of cooked vegetables and protein with a spicy peanut-coconut sauce. A tantalising alternative for Christmas day leftovers.

Meaning ‘mix-mix’ in Indonesian, this dish is about various vegetables and proteins colliding, united by a savoury peanut-coconut sauce - ‘bumbu kacang’ - which adds superlative flavour to any blanched vegetables. It is eaten throughout Indonesia as a street food, but it’s particularly best-known in throughout Java. Each vendor has their own recipe for their bumbu kacang and it’s the quality of the sauce that determines the gado-gado and the vendor’s reputation. Use any of the ‘add-ons’ that you like from the ingredients list and make it your own. It goes without saying, gado-gado is a great way to use up leftover vegetables and meat from a feast, especially Christmas. The sauce breathes new life into absolutely anything. Really spend some time making the sauce, seasoning it and fine-tuning its flavour. You want it to taste emphatic, perhaps even slightly over-seasoned, as it will be used to carry a plate mild-tasting, blanched vegetables. And finally, don’t forget the prawn/rice crackers smashed over the top, they really tie everything together with a nice crunch. Let’s go!

INGREDIENTS (serves 1-2x)

SPICY PEANUT SAUCE (BUMBU KACANG)

• 2x cloves garlic

• 1-3x birds eye chillies

• 1 tablespoon palm sugar/white sugar

• 2 tsps kecup manis (Indonesia Soy Ketchup) or 1 tsp dark soy + 1 tsp honey

• 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate or lime juice

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 50g of coconut cream (block form)

• 100ml water

• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter

• 1/2 tsp Indonesian shrimp paste (sambal terasi or belacan) - optional

GADO GADO PORTIONS (ANY OF THE FOLLOWING):

• handful of green beans

• handful of beansprouts

• sliced tomato

• 1-2 hardboiled eggs

• handful of sliced cucumber

• grated carrot

• handful of toasted peanuts

• 1x boiled potato, sliced

• handful of rice/prawn crackers

• handful of cooked chicken

• handful of tofu puffs / fried tofu or tempeh

• small handful of coriander

WALKTHROUGH

1. First let’s make the peanut sauce (bumbu kacang). In a pestle and mortar or food processor, combine the 2x cloves of garlic, 1-3x birds eye chillies, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tablespoon of palm sugar/white sugar. Blend in the 2 tsps kecup manis, 1 tablespoon of tamarind/lime juice and combine until smooth.

   

2. Transfer the mixture to saucepan and add the 50g coconut cream, crumbled up if solid, and 100ml of water. Place the pan onto medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the coconut cream has melted and dissolved.

3. Add the 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and stir until combined. The mixture will initially curdle and seize, but will eventually loosen out after stirring. If the mixture remains curdled and thicken, loosen the mixture by adding some water.

   

   

4. Taste the sauce for seasoning, making adjustments with sugar, lime/tamarind or salt. Transfer the sauce to a condiment dish or to a container to store for up to 5 days. The sauce will solidify on cooling, but can be melted back to life before serving.

5. Before serving, prepare the gado gado components. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. You can use this to boil any additions (potatoes, hardboiled eggs) or blanch your vegetables (beansprouts, green beans). You can slice any fresh ingredients to add to the platter (tomatoes, cooked potato, grated carrot, coriander) and fry any protein until crisp (chicken, tofu, tempeh). Once prepared, the vegetables and protein can be arranged around the plate and kept at room temperature until serving.

   

   

6. Serve the gado gado with the peanut sauce, dipping them into the sauce or combining everything and eating it like a dressed salad. Don’t forget to smash over some prawn/rice crackers! Enjoy!