Deniz has always had an affinity for south east Asian peanut sauces, but has always been disappointed by the Massaman curries he’s ordered in Thai restaurants. They’ve typically been cloyingly sweet, not something he appreciates in main dishes. His disappointment became so frequent, that I eventually started encouraging him to order other curries so he could enjoy his meal. However, when we began making lesser known international dishes, we ran across an Indonesian Gado Gado recipe on recipetineats.com that looked promising. The peanut sauce was a delicious balance of peanutty goodness with a hint of sugar, spice, and heat. Below is our modification of the recipe to meet our particular tastes.

Indonesian Gado Gado

A scruptious blend of peanutty goodness, south east Asian spices, and heat poured atop a warmed salad.

Ingredients

Gado Gado Sauce

• 1/3 c creamy peanut butter, we prefer low sugar
• 2 T peanuts, chopped
• 4 T red curry paste
• 1 T Kecap manis, also known as thick sweet soy sauce
• 1 t sambal oelak
• 1/2 c coconut milk, high fast
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t brown sugar
• 1/2 T lime juice
• 1/2 c water

Warm Salad Ingredients

• 1 c egg noodles, pre-cooked and detangled
• 1 handful baby spinach leaves, washed
• 1 c bean sprouts
• 1/2 block tofu, fried and cut in half and sliced (thick slices)
• 1/2 chayote, cut in half and sliced (thick slices)

Cold Salad Ingredients

• 2 eggs, boiled, cut in half, and then sliced
• 1 persian cucumber, cut into strips
• 1 medium tomato, sliced
• 3 romaine lettuce leaves, roughly chopped

Notes

1.  Mix all Gado Gado Sauce ingredients in a medium sauce pan over low heat.  Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring so that it doesn’t burn.  
2. Hardboil and peel the eggs.  Put them in a pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes.  Drain, fill the pot with cold water and peel the shells immediately.  
3. Prepare the Warm Salad Ingredients and Cold Salad Ingredients per instructions in the ingredients list.
4. Fry all of the Warm Salad Ingredients together in a medium covered sauce pan with a few tablespoons of water until spinach is wilted and the rest of the ingredients are thoroughly warmed.
5. Place the Cold Salad Ingredients onto the serving plate.  Place the Warm Salad Ingredients on top.  Pour the cooked Gado Gado sauce on top.  

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