Fruit and Raw Vegetable Gado-Gado
A banana leaf, which can be bought from Asian stores, can be used instead of the mixed salad leaves to line the platter for a special occasion.
Ingredients
- ½ cucumber
- 2 pears (not too ripe) or 175g / 6oz wedge of yam bean
- 1-2 eating apples
- juice of ½ lemon
- mixed salad leaves
- 6 small tomatoes, cut in wedges
- 3 slices fresh pineapple, cored and cut in wedges
- 3 eggs, hard-boiled and shelled
- 175g / 6oz egg noodles, cooked, cooled and chopped
- deep-fried onions, to garnish
For the peanut sauce:
- 2-4 fresh red chillies, seeded and ground, or 15ml / 1 tbsp chilli sambal
- 300ml / ½ pint / 1¼ cups coconut milk
- 350g / 12oz / 1¼ cups crunchy peanut butter
- 15ml / 1 tbsp dark soy sauce or dark brown sugar
- 5ml / 1 tsp tamarind pulp, soaked in 45ml / 3 tbsp warm water
- coarsely crushed peanuts
- salt
Preparation
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- Make the peanut sauce. Put the ground chillies or chilli sambal in a pan. Pour in the coconut milk, then stir in the peanut butter. Heat gently, stirring, until well blended.
- Simmer gently until the sauce thickens, then stir in the soy sauce or sugar. Strain in the tamarind juice, add salt to taste and stir well. Spoon into a bowl and sprinkle with a few coarsely crushed peanuts.
- To make the salad, core the cucumber and peel the pears or yam bean. Cut them into matchsticks. Finely shred the apples and sprinkle them with the lemon juice. Spread a bed of lettuce leaves on a flat platter, then pile the fruit and vegetables on top.
- Add the sliced or quartered hard-boiled eggs, the chopped noodles and the deep-fried onions. Serve at once, with the sauce.
VARIATION
Quail's eggs can be used instead of normal eggs and look very attractive in this dish. Hard boil for 3 minutes and halve or leave whole.
Serves 6.