Gado Gado

For those of you gado-gado fans out there....I am not talking about the typical gado gado you get at Indonesian restaurants, but the healthier version made from cashew nuts and almonds instead of the typical peanut sauce....you know who you are.

I have been at work, experimenting in the kitchen recently. I have managed to get the taste and texture very close to the ones I have tried.

For the sauce (enough to serve 2 as mains or 4 as sides), you will need about 200gm roasted cashews or almonds or a mix of both nuts, fresh red chilli, about 1 inch of lemon grass (the white portion), kaffir lime leaves (about 3-4 large pieces), 1/4 cup of assam juice (tamarind) and 2-3tbsp brown sugar. Just mince all of these in an electric chopper or blender to a texture you like. I like mine creamy but still with chunks. It should form a paste....to serve add water to a consistency you like, stir and warm over medium heat. If stored in a glass jar when cool (as in the paste only without the water), it can keep for about 1 week...just add water, warm it up and serve.

For the rest of the dish, let your imagination run wild...the staples would be shredded cucumber, shredded lettuce, tau kwa, boiled potatoe and hard boiled egg. Other things you may want to add on are hardier vege like boiled cabbage, cauliflower, tempeh etc.

Enjoy!!!