Let’s make this all-time-favorite Indonesian recipe -Gado Gado, literally translated as Mix-Mix! It is a mix of delicious vegetables - colorful and different textures, at the same time, a mix of vegetables, carbohydrates, and protein that makes this dish - a complete, wholesome meal!
The limelight of this dish is the creamy peanut sauce which is the miracle worker that brings blanched and raw vegetables a whole new level of tastiness. Watch till the end to find out how to make this easy peanut dressing.
Have you wondered how blanched vegetables such as beansprout, long beans, white and red cabbages, potatoes, broccoli, and raw vegetables including tomatoes, and cucumber can be turned into a delicious all-time favorite? I am not kidding, growing up I love this dish that I only have the chance of eating when my parents took us to a special Indonesian Restaurant.
It was the magical taste of the peanut sauce - the right combination of sweet, tangy, spicy, creamy, and umami taste that kind of binds everything up so deliciously. Vegetables especially blanched vegetables never tasted so irresistible.
Here, in this recipe, I gave a twist with vegetables that are considered superfoods and some more traditionally used to present a fresh twist to this dish. Also, I found this ready-made block of gado gado sauce that can be easily made for this recipe. You can find this at Ranch 99 here in Houston or order it online.
Try using kale leaves, carrots, beansprouts, tomatoes, broccoli, bok choi, and anything else that you like to include in this vegetable platter. Don’t forget cucumbers to get the crunchiness and lettuce leaves for freshness. You can blanch, or lightly cook vegetables such as kale, carrots, and bok choi. Use the cucumber, lettuce leaves, and tomatoes in their raw form.
For protein, I make hard-boiled eggs for this dish. Once the water boils, cook for 9 minutes. (I kind of overcooked the hard-boiled eggs this time) Other types of protein are tempeh, tofu, and even some grilled meat and seafood. The carbo part can be some steamed glutinous rice or rice cake called lontong, some toasted bread, or rice.
One can make peanut sauce from scratch. Or, find this gado-gado ready-made peanut sauce that can be ready in minutes. Find this easily at the Asian grocer Ranch 99 in the International food aisle. It can also be found online.
Open up the packet, break the hardened peanut sauce into pieces, and put these in a pot. Pour half a cup of water into the pot. Now add a little drizzle of olive oil and slowly soften these in a low fire. It will now turn into a thick dressing. If you have kaffir leave or curry leaves, cut some into the sauce. If you have crunch peanuts, add to the sauce for extra crunchiness.
You now have the magical peanut sauce dressing. Drizzle this onto all the different types of vegetables and ingredients. With this peanut sauce, eating vegetables has become a delightful affair.

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