Gado-Gado with Warm Peanut Sauce

Jakarta warungs still grind the sauce to order in a heavy stone cobek, one portion at a time, adjusting the chili count for each customer.

Why the mortar beats the blender

A blender cuts peanuts. A mortar crushes them, and crushing forces the oil out of the nut and into the paste. That released oil is what gives the sauce its body, so a blended version needs added fat to reach the same texture and still tastes flatter.

If you only have a blender, pulse rather than run it, and stop while the peanuts are still slightly coarse.

Blanch, do not boil

The vegetables should keep their colour and some resistance. Cook them separately, because each one has a different timing, and cool them quickly so residual heat does not carry them past done. Warm sauce over cool vegetables is the contrast the dish is built on.

How to make it

1. 1

   Blanch each vegetable separately in salted boiling water. Cabbage and long beans need 2 minutes, bean sprouts 30 seconds, spinach under a minute. Drain and spread out to cool.

2. 2

   Pound the fried peanuts in a mortar until they break into a coarse, oily rubble. Work in batches so the paste stays even.

3. 3

   Add the chilies, fried garlic, palm sugar, and salt. Keep pounding until the mixture turns into a thick, fragrant paste.

4. 4

   Stir in the tamarind water and sweet soy sauce, then loosen with hot water a little at a time until the sauce pours slowly from the spoon.

5. 5

   Taste and adjust. The sauce should land sweet first, then salty, sour, and hot in that order.

6. 6

   Arrange the vegetables, potato, tofu, tempeh, egg, and cucumber on a wide plate. Spoon the warm sauce over the top.

7. 7

   Finish with fried shallots and emping. Serve with lontong on the side and toss everything together at the table.

Serving notes

Serve with a torn heel of good bread, a green salad sharp with lemon, and a glass of something cold. Leftovers reheat beautifully with a splash of pasta water.