Gado-gado is an Indonesian vegetable salad made from a mix of blanched and raw vegetables, boiled potatoes and eggs, and fried tofu and tempeh, all dressed in a thick, spiced peanut sauce. The name translates loosely to "mix mix," and that mix is the whole point: it's built from whatever vegetables are on hand, dressed the same way every time.
The dish is closely tied to Jakarta and West Java, where it developed as a Betawi street food sold from carts, though versions of it show up across the country under different names and with different vegetable lineups. It's often described as Indonesia's answer to a composed salad, though the peanut dressing makes it heartier and more filling than that description suggests.
The dish looks simple, but two things separate a good gado-gado from a sad pile of overcooked vegetables drowning in sauce: how the vegetables are cooked, and how the peanut sauce is built.
What Actually Matters
Blanch each vegetable separately and briefly, then shock it in ice water right away. Green beans, cabbage, and bean sprouts all cook at different speeds, and if you throw them all into one pot together you'll end up with mushy beans and undercooked cabbage. A minute or two in boiling water followed by an immediate ice bath keeps every vegetable bright in color and still a little crisp, which is what makes gado-gado a salad and not a boiled vegetable side dish. On the sauce side, build the peanut dressing slowly, whisking the coconut milk or water into the ground peanut paste a little at a time over low heat, since dumping it all in at once is the most common way to make the sauce split into a greasy layer instead of staying smooth and clinging to the vegetables.
Gado-Gado Recipe
Serves 4. Prep time: 30 minutes. Cook time: 20 minutes. Total time: 50 minutes.
- 2 cups green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 cups shredded green cabbage
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled, boiled, and sliced
- 2 large eggs, hard boiled and halved
- 8 ounces firm tofu, cut into cubes and fried until golden
- 8 ounces tempeh, sliced and fried until golden
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- 3/4 cup roasted peanuts (or 1/2 cup natural peanut butter)
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 red chilies, seeded (adjust to taste)
- 1 tablespoon kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
- 1 cup coconut milk (or water for a lighter sauce)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup fried shallots, for garnish
- 1 tablespoon shrimp crackers (krupuk), crushed, for garnish (optional)
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch the green beans for 2 minutes, the cabbage for 1 minute, and the bean sprouts for 30 seconds, blanching each vegetable separately and transferring it to a bowl of ice water immediately after. Drain well.
- Make the peanut sauce. If using whole peanuts, blend them in a food processor with the garlic and chilies until finely ground. If using peanut butter, blend the peanut butter, garlic, and chilies together.
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the peanut mixture and kecap manis, stirring for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the coconut milk a little at a time, keeping the heat low, until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Simmer the sauce gently for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice and salt.
- Arrange the blanched vegetables, boiled potatoes, hard boiled eggs, fried tofu, fried tempeh, and cucumber on a large platter.
- Spoon the warm peanut sauce generously over the top. Garnish with fried shallots and crushed shrimp crackers if using, and serve right away.
| Nutrition (per serving) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | approximately 430 |
| Protein | approximately 19g |
| Fat | approximately 26g |
| Carbohydrates | approximately 34g |
These values are a calculated estimate based on the ingredients above, not lab-verified nutrition data.
Tips, Variations, and Storage
Swap in whatever vegetables you have on hand, spinach, carrots, and long beans are all common additions, since gado-gado was built around using up what's available. Keep the components separate in the fridge for up to three days rather than dressing the whole platter ahead of time, since the vegetables will turn watery and dilute the sauce if it sits on them too long. The peanut sauce keeps on its own in the fridge for about a week and can be gently rewarmed with a splash of water to loosen it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my peanut sauce turn out grainy or split?
It's almost always from adding the liquid too fast or cooking over heat that's too high. Whisk the coconut milk in gradually over low heat, and if it does split, whisk in a little warm water off the heat to bring it back together.
Can I make gado-gado ahead of time?
Prep the components and the sauce separately up to a day ahead, then assemble and dress the platter just before serving so the vegetables stay crisp.
Is gado-gado served hot or cold?
The vegetables are typically served at room temperature or lightly chilled, while the peanut sauce is served warm, spooned over the top just before eating.
Can I make this vegan?
Yes, leave out the eggs and check that your kecap manis brand doesn't contain any animal products, since most don't. Everything else in the recipe is already plant based.
What's the difference between gado-gado and pecel?
They're closely related salads with similar peanut dressings, but pecel usually uses a spicier, drier sauce and leaves out the tofu, tempeh, and eggs found in gado-gado.
Do I have to fry the tofu and tempeh?
Frying gives both a firmer texture and a bit of char that holds up under the sauce, but you can pan sear them with a little oil instead if you'd rather not deep fry.
Gado-gado is a good lighter counterpoint if you've been working through richer dishes like rendang, and it fits right alongside the rest of the Indonesian recipes hub.
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I'm Chef Alan. I have spent 35 years in professional kitchens, I have formal culinary education in New Hampshire, and I have been honored as a 6-Time 4-Diamond Chef. More about me here.
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