There is a dish that I love for Lunch in Jakarta, Gado-gado. It’s an original Jakarta’s Mixed Vegetables with Peanut Sauce. The dish is made with cooked vegetables and bean curd or tempeh (nutty-flavored fermented soybean cakes) tossed in a spicy sauce of roasted nuts, chilies, and lime or tamarind juice. The morning-to-nighttime staple is always served with something crunchy — prawn crackers or crisps made from melinjo, the hard fruit of a tropical evergreen tree.
Jakartans often turn it into a one-dish meal by eating it with a side of rice or asking for lontong (steamed pressed rice cakes) to be mixed right in with the other ingredients.
In upscale restaurants gado-gado Betawi is usually served in small portions as an appetizer or a side dish.
Gado Gado Ingredients
SAUCE
- 1/2 ts Galangal powder (Laos)
- 1 Fresh hot red or green
- 1 Clove garlic, sliced
- 1 tb Dark brown sugar
- 1/2 ts Salt
- 1 c Coconut milk
- 1/2 ts Shrimp sauce
- 4 tb Natural peanut butter
- 1 tb Tamarind liquid
- 1 Square inch lemon peel
VEGETABLES
- 1 c String beans in 2-inch
- 1 c Julienne of carrot
- 2 c Shredded Napa cabbage
- 1 c Fresh bean sprouts
- 1 c Cooked, sliced potatoes
- 1 c Sliced cucumber
GARNISH
- 1 Piece tofu, fried brown,
- 1 sl Tomato
- 2 Hard-cooked eggs, sliced
- 2 md Onions, sliced, fried until
Instructions for Gado Gado (Mixed Vegetables with Peanut Sauce)
Heres another, more complex recipe for Gado Gado. From the San Francisco Chronicle, date unknown. Ive done this un. Pretty tasty… Put all the sauce ingredients except the lemon peel in a blender or food processor and puree. Place in a saucepan with the lemon peel and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until thickened and darkened. Set aside and keep warm. Blanch the beans and carrots for 3 minutes, then run under cold water to stop cooking. Blanch the cabbage and sprouts for a few seconds and run under cold water. Arrange the vegetables in layers on a platter- -cabbage, beans, carrots, potatoes, cucumbers and sprouts on top. Garnish: Scatter the tofu cubes over the sprouts. Garnish with egg and tomato slices around the edges, then pour the sauce over and sprinkle all with the fried onions.
If you to try it, you can go to Gado-Gado ‘Boplo’ in Jalan Panglima Polim IX No. 124, Jakarta Selatan (62-21-724-8334). $1.75; $1.85 with lontong.
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