Salad is universal. In Chinese cuisine, we have 凉拌菜(liang ban cai ) which are basically cold dishes . I remember my days in Shanghai , the fresh cucumbers with vinegar and garlic. Such a simple dish yet always so yummy. Or the thinly sliced tofu with century eggs and a dash of soya sauce and sesame oil topped with loads of green onions. So when my Dad brought back a few packets of Gado Gado sauce from Indonesia , I knew what I had to make. Gado Gado is an Indonesian dish with boiled vegetables and eggs mixed into a sweet peanut sauce with spices. It is absolutely delicious and just as healthy as any other salad. I deviated from the normal recipe and just included vegetables I like.
INGREDIENTS
1 head cabbage ( medium-sized , chopped roughly )
2 slices of tau kwah ( hard beancurd , sliced )
1 cup Chinese long beans ( cut into small pieces of about 2.5cm )
10 quail eggs (boiled and shelled)
1.5 cups bean sprouts
1 cucumber ( sliced )
1 packet Gado Gado sauce
1 pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS
1) Add a pinch of salt to a pot of water and bring it to boil
2) Blanch the cabbage , bean sprouts and Chinese long beans separately
3) Arrange the tau kwah on a lined baking pan ( do coat the baking paper with a little olive oil before putting on the tau kwah )
4 ) Bake it at around 150 degrees for 15 minutes before flipping all pieces over and baking it for another 15 minutes
5) Add some hot water into the Gado Gado sauce to soften it such that it becomes a paste
6) Place all ingredients in separate bowls and prepare for serving
I prefer to place all ingredients in separate bowls so that each person can customise their own salad. But it’s really up to you and you can place all ingredients in a bowl with the sauce and mix it up.
Confession : I left out the crackers that was later added to the salad. But honestly, the prawn crackers really tastes awesome with the peanut sauce.