Ingredients
- For peanut sauce: 4 Tbsp peanut butter, 3 Tsp ABC Kecap Manis Indonesian Soy Sauce, juice of half a lime, 1 tsp grated ginger (lemongrass optional), 1 tsp grated garlic and 100ml coconut milk.
- 1 block of tempeh
- 1 regular sized carrot
- 1 small cucumber
- 1 quarter red cabbage (can substitute Chinese cabbage if prefered)
- 1 handful of bean shoots
- 1 cob of corn
- 1 half of a red capscium
- 200g of green beans
- 2 regular sized potatoes
- 3 Tbsp ABC Kecap Manis Indonesian Soy Sauce (for tempeh marinade)
- 1 sheet Valcom rice paperSalt and white pepper to taste
- Optional additions: crushed roasted peanuts, fried onion/garlic, fresh coriander leaves (not pictured) or a boiled egg (leave out if making vegan).
- Vegetable oil (for cooking)
Method
- Gado gado is a fresh Indonesian dish and can be made up of various combinations of fresh or cooked vegetables and proteins served with a peanut sauce. I am making mine vegetarian (easily adaptable to vegan). Traditionally, gado gado is often served with crackers in Indonesia, so I am adding my vegan 'prawn' crackers to the spread. First, to make your sauce, combine the peanut butter, lime juice, grated ginger, grated garlic, ABC sweet soy sauce, coconut milk and lemongrass (if you are using it) and mix together well. If you would like the sauce thicker, add more peanut butter or if you would like it easier to pour, add more coconut milk as needed. Leave to the side while you prepare your other ingredients.Note: sauce will thicken when refrigerated, so leave out for 5-10 minutes before serving if you put it into the fridge after preparing.
- Cut your tempeh into thin strips, add them to 3 Tbsp of ABC sweet soy sauce in a pan or container, covering them well, and allow to marinade while you prepare your other ingredients.
- FInely cut your carrot, cucumber, cabbage and capsicum to your prefered size. Set to the side for serving later. Cube your potatoes and prepare your green beans. Note: you can also use various other vegetables as well or instead, eg broccoli and snow peas or use less ingredients than I have. Also, if you choose to prepare a larger amount and refrigerate them, the meal can be easily assembled for a few days following preparation, depending on the freshness of your ingredients.
- Boil your potatoes for around 5-10 minutes, depending on the width of your cut and your prefered softness. Set to the side. Quickly steam your green beans for two minutes then blanch them in iced water to keep their crunch. Set to the side for serving. One of the best things about gado gado is the fresh crunch of all of the ingredients!
- Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in your pan. While it is heating, cut the corn form the cob. Fry the corn until browned/popping. Set to the side.
- Heat a few teaspoons of vegetable oil in a non-stick pan and evenly fry your tempeh on both sides until slightly crunchy. Set to the side once cooked.Note: be careful not to overcook - the sugar in sweet soy makes them cook faster!
- This is the secret ingredient to a great vegetarian/vegan gado gado - vegan 'prawn' crackers!Using your sheet of Valcom rice paper, break into quarters by bending it in half until it snaps and then again. It's not difficult to do. Now, heat around 2 cms of vegetable oil in a non-stick pan, enough to shallow fry. Once at a frying temperature, carefully put in one of the quarters at a time and watch magic happen as they curl up into small crackers. Immediately turn them over and then remove from the pan (I place them on a plate with absorbent towel to drain any excess oil). Once cooled, lightly dust them in a bowl with salt and white pepper to taste. It is amazing how convincing these are.They will keep in an airtight container for a few days after preparing. Note: you can also add crushed Obento nori rolls when seasoning them for an extra 'prawny' flavour.
- Now that all of your ingredients are prepared, arrange them, your bean shoots and any garnishes (leave out the boiled egg if you are making vegan) into a colourful spread on your plate.Either drizzle with your peanut sauce or serve it on the side. Most of all, enjoy this crunchy, flavour-packed dish with family and friends! :)
Product used in recipe
- ABC - Sweet Soy Sauce
- Valcom - Valcom Rice Paper
