Gado Gado

A fresh Indonesian salad whose name literally means “mix mix”. Crisp vegetables, boiled egg, and crunchy fried onions, all brought together with a warm, savoury peanut butter sauce.

Ingredients

• 150 g French beans, trimmed
• 100 g bean sprouts
• ½ cucumber, sliced
• ½ small lettuce, leaves torn
• 2 eggs, hard-boiled
• 2 tbsp crispy fried onions

For the peanut butter sauce:

• 4 tbsp peanut butter
• 100 ml milk (plus a little extra to loosen)
• 1 tsp sugar, to taste
• 1 tbsp kecap manis (sweet Indonesian soy sauce), to taste
• sambal, to taste (optional)

Method

1. Prepare the vegetables

1. Cook or steam the French beans150 g French beans, trimmed for 4–5 minutes, until just tender with a bit of bite.
2. Drain and leave to cool down to room temperature.
3. Wash the bean sprouts100 g bean sprouts, cucumber½ cucumber, sliced, and lettuce½ small lettuce, leaves torn, then “mix mix” them together with the cooled French beans150 g French beans, trimmed in a serving bowl.

2. Top the salad

1. Cut the hard-boiled eggs2 eggs, hard-boiled into quarters or slices.
2. Spread the egg over the vegetables.
3. Sprinkle the crispy fried onions2 tbsp crispy fried onions over the whole dish.

3. Make the peanut butter4 tbsp peanut butter sauce

1. Warm the peanut butter4 tbsp peanut butter in a saucepan over a low heat.
2. When it starts to melt, stir the milk100 ml milk (plus a little extra to loosen) through until smooth and at your desired thickness. Keep adding a splash more milk100 ml milk (plus a little extra to loosen) whenever the sauce thickens up again.
3. Season with the sugar1 tsp sugar, to taste and kecap manis1 tbsp kecap manis (sweet Indonesian soy sauce), to taste to taste, and stir in a little sambalsambal, to taste (optional) if you like some heat.

4. Serve

• Spoon the warm peanut sauce generously over the salad, or serve it on the side for dipping.