Gado-Gado Salad

If you know me a little bit by now, you should know that I love anything with peanuts or peanut sauce. Knowing this, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that vegan gado-gado is one of my favorite Indonesian dishes.

In the time that I have been living and traveling in Indonesia, I have tried many different gado-gado’s. Everywhere they seem to make it slightly different, so it gave me a lot of inspiration to create gado-gado the way I like it best.

It’s packed with veggies and thus super healthy, but it doesn’t really feel like eating a salad. Next to that, the tempeh, tofu and peanut sauce make it a protein-packed vegan meal.

INGREDIENTS

Iceberg lettuce, 1 head
Cucumber, 1
Green beans, 2 handfuls
Tofu, 5.3 oz (150 g)
Tempeh, 5.3 oz (150 g)
Bean sprouts, 2 handfuls
Cassava chips or rice crackers
Kecap manis (sweetened soy sauce), ¾ tbsp

Peanut butter, 3 tbsp
Sambal or chili peppers, 2 tsp
Water, 1 cup (240 ml)
Soy sauce, 2 tbsp
Onion powder, ½ tsp
Garlic powder, ½
Salt, ½ tsp
Pepper, ¼ tsp

cooked tofu — ...and the tofu until golden brown

gado gado salad satay sauce — Satay sauce

gado gado salad — Place the lettuce and green beans in a bowl

how to make vegan gado-gado salad

Cut the tofu and tempeh into cubes and season with the soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. I put the tempeh and tofu in two different bowls and cook them separately.
Heat two teaspoons of cooking oil in a frying pan and cook the tempeh and tofu until they turn a golden brown color. This should take about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the green beans into smaller pieces and cook them in boiling water for 7 minutes approximately. The beans should still have a light crunch to them.
Prepare a saucepan and add the peanut butter, kecap manis, sambal (or chili peppers) and water. Cook on low heat until it turns into a smooth satay sauce.
Wash the lettuce and bean sprouts. Cut the cucumber into cubes or strips.
Place the lettuce in a bowl or on a plate, and layer it with the green beans, tempeh, tofu, cucumber, bean sprouts and rice crackers. Pour the satay sauce over it to finish the vegan gado-gado salad. Optional: garnish with chopped roasted peanuts or fried onion.