COOK’S TIPS
When adding the peanut butter, reduce the heat to low to avoid the sauce splitting.
Add a little hot water when blitzing if the peas are not forming a smooth paste.
The Vietnamese dressing goes well with seafood and can be used on salads.
Use a vegetable peeler or a mandolin to shave vegetables to achieve the desired thickness. Place the shaved vegetables in ice water for 5 minutes to refresh before plating.
Gado Gado (Indonesian vegetable dish)
Ingredients
PEANUT SATAY SAUCE
- 30ml (2 tbsp) vegetable oil
- 2 large shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 2cm piece fresh ginger, grated
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 fresh chilli, deseeded and chopped
- 5ml (1 tsp) soya sauce
- 15ml (1 tbsp) castor sugar
- 250ml (1 cup) coconut cream
- 100g peanut butter (palm-oil free)
- 15g peanuts, roasted and chopped
- fresh coriander, to taste
- fresh lime juice, to taste
PEA PURÉE
- 250g frozen peas
- 30 – 45ml (2 – 3 tbsp) sour cream
- salt, to taste
- hot water, if needed (see cook’s tip)
VIETNAMESE DRESSING
- 45g shallots, peeled
- 30ml (2 tbsp) sesame oil
- 30g fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 45g pickled ginger, finely chopped
- 30ml (2 tbsp) light soya sauce
- 1 small fresh chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 110ml rice wine vinegar
- 110ml sugar syrup (equal portions sugar to water, brought to the boil)
- 120ml dashi (basic Japanese sea stock; find at your local Asian grocer)
- 30ml (2 tbsp) pickled ginger sauce
- fish sauce, to taste
- lime juice, to taste
TO ASSEMBLE
- 1 radish, thinly sliced
- 2 baby fennel bulbs, shaved
- 2 baby beetroots, thinly sliced
- 1 celery stick, shaved with a vegetable peeler/mandolin
- 1 baby carrot, shaved with a vegetable peeler/mandolin
- 25g shimeji mushrooms (raw), cleaned
- 50g whole peas
- 2 – 4 fried quail eggs
Instructions
For the peanut satay sauce, heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over high heat, add the 2 large chopped shallots and fry until soft. Add the grated 2cm piece fresh ginger, garlic and chilli, and continue to cook, a further 4 minutes. Add the 5ml (1 tsp) soya sauce and castor sugar, and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Add the coconut cream and peanut butter over low heat, stirring continuously, until the peanut butter is incorporated. Add the peanuts, followed by the fresh coriander and lime juice to taste.
For the purée, in a pot of boiling water, blanch the 250g frozen peas, 3 minutes (don’t allow them to change colour). Using either a stick blender or food processor, blitz the peas with the sour cream to form a smooth purée (adding a splash of warm water if necessary) and pass through a sieve into a bowl. Season to taste.
For the dressing, in a medium-sized pot over medium heat, sweat off the shallots with the sesame oil, add the 30g fresh ginger and the remaining ingredients, except the fish sauce and lime juice, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and add the fish sauce and lime juice to taste. Allow to cool before using.
To assemble, thinly slice raw radish, fennel bulbs, beetroot, celery and carrot, then place in a bowl with the cleaned shimeji mushrooms and 50g whole peas. Dress the mixed vegetables with the Vietnamese dressing. Shallow-fry the quail eggs over high heat, 30 seconds for soft, sunny side up eggs.
To serve, brush the peanut satay sauce on the base of a plate, layer the raw vegetables on top and dot the plate with the pea purée to garnish.
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
