Gado-Gado: Indonesian Peanut Sauce

September 4, 2021 | videos

Gado-Gado is an Indonesian speciality. It’s most often served warm over steamed vegetables, but it’s versatile. It can also be served cold as a salad dressing, or on a complete meal, like the Buddha Bowl we’ll make in this video.

 

Ingredients

Makes 4-5 servings

  • ½ cup sliced onion
  • ½ cup unsalted, all-natural peanut butter
  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • 1 ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons white miso
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger root, minced
  • 2 diglett noor dates (or 1 medjool), finely chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Red pepper flakes to taste
  • ½ teaspoon soy sauce
  • ¾ – 1 cup water

Method

Heat a saute pan on medium, dry-saute the onions until they begin to soften, and become slightly caramelized. Add a small amount of water along with the garlic and ginger, bay leaf and dates and cook for a few more minutes. Add a few drops of water as necessary to keep your saute from sticking. 

Add ¾ cup of water to the mix, bring it to a boil and then add the peanut butter. It’s important to wait until the water is hot before adding the peanut butter. Otherwise the peanut butter won’t mix with the water and you’ll be stirring forever. 

You will probably need to add small amounts of water as your Gado-Gado cooks.

Add the remaining ingredients, lime juice, vinegar, soy sauce, miso and red pepper flakes, cover and continue to cook on low for 20 minutes.