I miss summer. I miss long bright evenings, swimming in warm and sunny water, sand in my toes and sun kisses on my cheeks. 

Sadly, summer (or vacation) is still far away, but while waiting I can taste the summer :). For me, summer is associated with bright colours and even brighter veggies. Today’s dish – GADO GADO salad.

I have never been to Indonesia, but this country is on my list. When I feel sad I love to go through travel pages and plan my next destinations and places to visit. Indonesian kitchen is very colourful and I am ready to try it in my kitchen. 

Even if you are not a fan of salad, this dish can surprise you. Both me and my boyfriend love pizzas and burgers, but we can assure that these salads are bomb. 

Gado gado (literally translates to “mix-mix”) – delicious Indonesian salad. In this dish you can use different veggies, what you have in your fridge. The main star is peanut sauce, it transforms salad to a very fulfilling meal. These salads have very different textures that just work perfectly together: softness of eggs and boiled potatoes, crunchiness of tofu and prawn crackers, juiciness of fresh veggies and sauce creaminess.  

For the vegan version don’t use eggs and replace prawns crackers with thin rice crackers. You can change ingredients, however, I think potatoes and tofu or tempeh are essential. 

For salad (2 portions):

• 180 g tofu (marinated or original)
• 300-400 g boiled potatoes, sliced
• 1 carrot, julienned 
• 1 cp red cabbage, chopped
• 1/2 persian or english cucumber, sliced
• 8 quail eggs, boiled
• Romaine salad, sliced
• Prawns crackers

Gado-gado sauce:

• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter 
• 1 1/2 tbsp red curry paste 
• 2 tbsp Kecap Manis 
• 1 tsp sambal oelak (or sriracha) 
• 2 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp salt 

1. Heat the oven to 220 C. Slice tofu to small cubes and place it on the sheet pan. Bake in the oven for 15-20 min, until brown and crispy (in the middle of cooking flip over pieces so it cooks more evenly). 
2. In a small saucepan mix all sauce ingredients and heat it over medium low heat. Bring to simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. If sauce is too thick, add little bit of water. Place it in a small 2 bowls. 
3. Slice boiled quails eggs, place all salad ingredients in the plates and serve with sauce and prawn crackers by the side.