Gado-Gado

Nagi Maehashi’s gado-gado brings spinach, bean sprouts, potato, cucumber and boiled eggs together with a peanut sauce. Her Indonesian salad includes crisp pan-fried tempeh and a sauce that uses Thai red curry paste as a shortcut.

Natural peanut butter, red curry paste, kecap manis, sambal, garlic, lime juice, coconut milk, salt and water simmer together until thickened. Extra water can make the sauce easier to drizzle, with lime, salt or sugar adjusting the balance.

Potatoes cook first in boiling water, followed by bean sprouts and spinach. Each is removed and drained, with excess water pressed from the wilted greens and sprouts.

The tempeh is sliced and fried until deep golden and crisp. It joins the vegetables on a platter or individual plates, with halved eggs added above.

Peanut sauce is served in a separate bowl, with chopped peanuts, optional sliced chilli and optional prawn crackers alongside. Maehashi presents the dish as a main-course salad or a platter for sharing, bringing several textures together.