Sneha Singhvi’s Gado Gado (Indonesian) salad is one of my favorite recipe. I love the way Sneha uses the mortal to make the peanut sauce in an authentic fashion. It’s a perfect summer salad and works with any crunchy or steamed vegetables you have at home. I met Sneha through my IG LIVE cooking series and we instantly connected for our love for cooking and her amazing food photography. Watch the step by step assembly of this salad and how the peanut sauce is made on our IGTV.
INGREDIENTS (Salad Assembly)
1/2 cup spinach (could use water spinach)
3/4 cup green beans, halved lengthways
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 cup bean sprouts, blanched in hot water
1 small potato, boiled
3/4 cup cabbage, shredded
3/4 cup tofu, paneer or rice (optional)
1 small onion, to be fried for garnish
FOR PEANUT SAUCE
2/3 cups roasted/ fried peanuts (roast the peanuts with 1tbsp of oil, use sun butter for nut allergies)
1 dry red kashmiri chilli or red thai chili (as per spice level)
2 cloves garlic
1 shallot
1 tbsp jaggery or palm sugar
1 tbsp soy or tamari or coconut aminos
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp crushed tamarind (tamarind paste or kaffir lime juice)
For Garnishing
Fried onions, roasted peanuts, handful of scallions or cilantro leaves, and sliced red radishes
DIRECTIONS
Step 1
Boil water in a vessel that can accommodate the quantity of vegetables you are going to blanch. Blanch the spinach, green beans, carrots, and bean sprouts one by one. Take these in a serving bowl and add chopped cucumber and boiled potatoes. Then, add some pan fried tofu or pan fried paneer cubes, or a scoop of cooked rice (sticky rice goes very well),
Step 2
Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic, salt, shallots, and chilli together. To this, add palm sugar, crushed tamarind, salt, roasted peanuts, and soy sauce. Pound it well with the mortar and pestle. This peanut sauce can be used at room temperature or warmed if you prefer it that way.
Step 3
Pour the sauce over the the vegetables assembled in a bowl. Garnish with fried onions, roasted peanuts, scallions, and sliced radishes.
Notes/Tips
You can add many vegetables (or as little as you please)
You can add some pan fried paneer or tofu cubes
Scoop of brown rice (optional)
Sneha recommends to add some everything bagel seasoning from Trader Joe’s (grocery store)
The peanut sauce can be served with summer rolls or momos
Peanut sauce can also be made in a blender/mixer