Page 103 - EBOOK_81 Homestyle Recipes With The True Taste Of Indonesia

Indonesian Mixed Salad with Creamy Peanut

Dressing Gado Gado

Everybody’s grandmother in Indonesia has a version of this Indonesian Mixed Salad
with Creamy Peanut Dressing. I remember visiting senior citizens in countryside
villages in Indonesia where I was invited to partake in family meals and they always
included this peanut flavored salad. It’s amazing how humble homes and bare-bone
kitchens with no electricity can often produce the most mind-blowing foods. Tiny old
ladies wearing batik sarongs with their waist-long hair piled in high buns, crouching

on cement floors, using stone mortar and pestles to pound fresh roasted peanuts and
chili peppers with energy and ferocity. I could only watch and learn as they expertly
added spices and herbs, sautéed the coconut milk with the paste, and eventually tossed
all types of greens, tofu, and bean sprouts in with the peanut sauce. Indonesians have
an adept way of turning nutrient-rich ingredients into a dish that tastes sinfully good.

SERVES 4-6
PREPARATION TIME: 20-25 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 15-25 MINUTES

Oil for deep-frying

½ head cabbage (1 lb/500 g) thinly sliced

3½ cups (375 g) bean sprouts