Salad Recipes
Gado Gado salad
Aisha Nanor Martin's spicy Indonesian salad has it all; crunchy vegetables, boiled eggs, chilli peanut sauce, fresh coriander, fried tofu and a sprinkling of prawn crackers for added crunch
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 200g firm tofu, chopped into small chunks
- 250g cooked potatoes (leftover roast potatoes work well), chopped into chunks
- 3 eggs
- 100g green beans, halved lengthways
- 250g Chinese cabbage, finely shredded
- ½ cucumber (or 1 baby cucumber), thinly sliced
- 100g beansprouts
- 1 carrot, shredded
- handful coriander, leaves picked and roughly chopped
- handful prawn crackers
- 4 tbsp crispy onions
For the peanut dressing
- 50g peanut butter
- 3 tbsp kecap manis (or 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce and 1/2 tbsp honey)
- 2 tsp shrimp paste or dried crayfish
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 fat red chillies (I like Scotch bonnets - use only 1 if you don't like it too spicy), finely chopped
- 150ml coconut milk
- juice 1 lime
Directions
- STEP 1
Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok and boil a small saucepan of water. Fry the tofu for a few mins each side until brown and crispy, then transfer to a plate. Add the potatoes to the frying pan and cook for a few mins until they are warmed through and starting to crisp, then tip onto the same plate and set aside to cool.
- STEP 2
Add the eggs to the boiling water and cook for 7 mins, then plunge them straight into cold water. Fill the saucepan with fresh water, bring to the boil and add the beans. Cook for 2-3 mins until just tender. Drain and run under cold water until cool.
- STEP 3
To make the peanut dressing, put the peanut butter and kecap manis in a bowl and mash together with a fork until smooth and combined. Whisk in the remaining ingredients.
- STEP 4
Put the tofu, potatoes, beans, cabbage, cucumber, beansprouts, carrot and coriander in a large bowl or arrange on a platter. Drizzle over half the dressing, reserving the rest for people to help themselves. Break the prawn crackers in your hands and scatter over. Peel and quarter the eggs, and serve on top with the crispy onions. Toss together just before serving.