Gado-gado

Last updated
Gado-gado
Gado gado jakarta.jpg
Gado gado is vegetables mixed together with peanut sauce
CourseMain course
Place of origin Indonesia [1]
Region or state Jakarta [2]
Associated cuisine Indonesia
Serving temperatureRoom temperature
Main ingredientsVarious vegetables in peanut sauce topped with krupuk
Variations Karedok , a raw vegetable version of Gado-gado

Gado-gado (Indonesian or Betawi) is an Indonesian salad [1] of raw, slightly boiled, blanched or steamed vegetables and hard-boiled eggs, boiled potato, fried tofu and tempeh, and sliced lontong (compressed cylinder rice cake wrapped in a banana leaf), [3] served with a peanut sauce dressing. [4] [1] [5]

Contents

In 2018, gado-gado was promoted as one of five national dishes of Indonesia; the others are soto, sate, nasi goreng, and rendang. [6]

Etymology

The term gado or the verb menggado means to consume something without rice. In Indonesian Betawi, digado or menggado [7] means to eat a certain dish (be it fish, meat, chicken, etc.) without rice. Gado-gado is made up of a rich mixture of vegetables, including potatoes, longbeans, bean sprouts, spinach, chayote, bitter gourd, corn and cabbage, along with tofu, tempeh, and hard-boiled eggs. They are all mixed in peanut sauce dressing, sometimes also topped with krupuk and sprinkles of fried shallots. Gado-gado is different from Sundanese lotek atah or karedok as the latter uses only raw vegetables. Another similar dish is the Javanese pecel .

Region

Gado-gado is widely sold in almost every part of Indonesia, each with its own regional variations. [1] It is thought to have originally been a Sundanese dish, as it is most prevalent in Western parts of Java (which includes Jakarta, Banten, and West Java provinces). The Javanese have their own slightly similar version of a vegetables-in-peanut-sauce dish called pecel which is more prevalent in Central and East Java. Gado-gado is widely available at hawkers' carts, stalls ( warung ) and restaurants and hotels throughout Indonesia; it is also served in Indonesian-style restaurants worldwide. Though it is customarily called a salad, the peanut sauce is a larger component of gado-gado than is usual for the dressings in Western-style salads; the vegetables should be well coated with it.

Some eating establishments use different mixtures of peanut sauce, or add other ingredients for taste such as cashew nuts. In Jakarta, several eating establishments boast gado-gado as their signature dish, some of which have been in business for decades and have developed faithful clientele. For example, Gado-Gado Boplo restaurant chain has been around since 1970, [8] while Gado-Gado Bonbin in Cikini has been around since 1960. [9]

The peanut sauce is made of ground fried peanuts, sweet palm sugar, garlic, chilies, salt, tamarind, and a squeeze of lime. [1] Gado-gado is generally freshly made, sometimes in front of the customers to suit their preferred degree of spiciness, which corresponds to the amount of chili pepper included. However, particularly in the West, gado-gado sauce is often prepared ahead of time and in bulk. Gado-gado sauce is also available in dried form, which is simply rehydrated by adding hot water.

Gado-gado sauce is not to be confused with satay sauce, which is also a peanut sauce.

History

The history of this Indonesian culinary dish does not have a fixed historical background. Rather, there are several different theories and beliefs as to how gado-gado became an Indonesian culinary dish. The different theories and beliefs are written below:

Indonesian word "digado"

Gado-gado comes from the Indonesian word "digado". However, the word "digado" does not exist in the Indonesian dictionary. The word "digado" originates from a specific Indonesian culture, Betawi. In the Betawi language, the word means “to not be eaten with rice”, which is why rice is not included as one of the key ingredients of gado-gado. Rather, a substitute of rice is used, which is known as lontong , otherwise known as Indonesian rice cake. [10]

Tugu Village

Another theory is that gado-gado originated from the Tugu village. In the early 1700s, when the Europeans arrived in Indonesia, a number of Portuguese people started a village currently known as the Tugu village. It is said that these Portuguese people brought their local cuisine to Indonesia. Through the introduction of the Portuguese culture, the dish gado-gado was first introduced to Indonesia. [10]

Chinese Origin

There are also some who claim that gado-gado originated from the Chinese people living in Betawi. Some claim that the Chinese people really enjoyed the Javanese pecel , which is an Indonesian salad, and wanted to modify the dish to better accommodate their taste. As a result, the dish gado-gado was created. [10]

Variations

Gado-gado Betawi

This variation of gado-gado originates from Betawi in Jakarta and is known for being prepared differently as compared to the other variations. [11]

Gado-gado Padang

Unlike gado-gado sederhana, gado-gado Padang adds yellow noodles and sohun , which are cellophane noodles, to the gado-gado dish. [11] This variation of gado-gado originated from Padang in West Sumatra. [11] It is also known to have a spicy flavor. [12] This variation follows other common dishes in Padang, which are known for having a spicy flavor. [12]

Gado-gado Sederhana

A translation of “gado-gado sederhana” is “simple gado-gado”. This variation is the basic way of preparing a gado-gado dish, which is made using vegetables, bean sprouts, lontong and peanut sauce as key ingredients. [11]

Gado-gado Sidoarjo

This variation of gado-gado originated from Sidoarjo and is created using an addition of petis , which is a food additive added to the peanut sauce. [12]

Gado-gado Surabaya

This variation of gado-gado cooks the peanut sauce and spreads it over the dish. [11] Some claim that cooking the peanut sauce makes the dish last longer. [11] It uses lettuce and tomatoes as some of the ingredients of the dish. [12] It also uses coconut milk in the peanut sauce, which is used to make the sauce look oilier and more tasteful. [12]

Ingredients

Peanut dressing

Gado-gado stall displaying ingredients of the dish. Gado-Gado stall.JPG
Gado-gado stall displaying ingredients of the dish.

Most of flavours in gado-gado are acquired from the mixture of its bumbu kacang or peanut salad dressing. Gado-gado combines slightly sweet, spicy and savory tastes. [1] The common primary ingredients of the peanut sauce are as follows:

The traditional method of making gado-gado is to use the cobek (pestle) and ulekan or flat rounded stone. The dry ingredients are ground first, then the tamarind liquids are added to achieve the desired consistency.

Vegetables

A traditional Indonesian way of making gado-gado. Gado gado ulek.jpg
A traditional Indonesian way of making gado-gado.

The composition of the vegetable salad varies greatly, but usually comprises a mixture of some of the following:

Outside Indonesia, it is usual to improvise with whatever vegetables are available. All the ingredients are blanched or lightly boiled, including vegetables, potatoes and bean sprouts, except for the tempeh and tofu, which are fried, and cucumber which is sliced and served fresh. [1] The blanched vegetables and other ingredients are mixed well with the dressing.

Garnishes and rice

In Indonesia gado-gado is commonly served mixed with chopped lontong or ketupat (glutinous rice cake), or with steamed rice served separately. It is nearly always served with krupuk , e.g. tapioca crackers or emping , Indonesian style fried crackers, which are made from melinjo . A common garnish is bawang goreng, a sprinkle of finely-chopped fried shallot. [1]

Serving

There are three common ways of serving the gado-gado dish in Indonesia. Firstly, gado-gado is sometimes prepared at home as a traditional Indonesian dish. It is relatively easy to prepare and cook, which is part of the reason why gado-gado can be commonly found in Indonesian households. Secondly, some street vendors and warungs in Indonesia are known to sell gado-gado. However, different cities may serve different variations of gado-gado depending on the region. Thirdly, gado-gado can also be found in restaurants that serve Indonesian cuisine. Amongst many Indonesian restaurants, gado-gado is a relatively common dish, because it is popular in Indonesia.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indonesian cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of Indonesia

Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions that formed in the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 populated islands of the total 17,508 in the world's largest archipelago, with more than 1,300 ethnic groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rijsttafel</span> Indonesian rice table buffet

Rijsttafel, a Dutch word that literally translates to "rice table", is an Indonesian elaborate meal adapted by the Dutch following the hidang presentation of nasi padang from the Padang region of West Sumatra. It consists of many side dishes served in small portions, accompanied by rice prepared in several different ways. Popular side dishes include egg rolls, sambals, satay, fish, fruit, vegetables, pickles, and nuts. In most areas where it is served, such as the Netherlands, and other areas of strong Dutch influence, it is known under its Dutch name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Indonesian cuisine</span> Cuisine of the people of Chinese Indonesians

Chinese Indonesian cuisine is characterized by the mixture of Chinese with local Indonesian style. Chinese Indonesians, mostly descendant of Han ethnic Hokkien and Hakka speakers, brought their legacy of Chinese cuisine, and modified some of the dishes with the addition of Indonesian ingredients, such as kecap manis, palm sugar, peanut sauce, chili, santan and local spices to form a hybrid Chinese-Indonesian cuisine. Some of the dishes and cakes share the same style as in Malaysia and Singapore, known as Nyonya cuisine by the Peranakan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pecel</span> Indonesian vegetable dish

Pecel is a traditional Javanese salad with peanut sauce, usually eaten with carbs.

<i>Lontong</i> Indonesian traditional rice cake

Lontong is an Indonesian dish made of compressed rice cake in the form of a cylinder wrapped inside a banana leaf, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Rice is rolled inside a banana leaf and boiled, then cut into small cakes as a staple food replacement for steamed rice. The texture is similar to that of ketupat, with the difference being that the ketupat container is made from woven janur fronds, while lontong uses banana leaf instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javanese cuisine</span> Cuisine of the Javanese people, Indonesia

Javanese cuisine is the cuisine of Javanese people, a major ethnic group in Indonesia, more precisely the province of Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Padang cuisine</span> Cuisine of the Minangkabau people of Indonesia

Padang dish or Minangkabau dish is the cuisine of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is among the most popular cuisines in Maritime Southeast Asia. It is known across Indonesia as Masakan Padang after Padang, the capital city of Western Sumatra province. It is served in restaurants mostly owned by perantauan (migrating) Minangkabau people in Indonesian cities. Padang food is ubiquitous in Indonesian cities and is popular in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ketoprak (dish)</span> Indonesian vegetarian dish

Ketoprak is an Indonesian vegetarian dish from Jakarta, consisting of tofu, vegetables, rice cake, and rice vermicelli served in peanut sauce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sundanese cuisine</span> Cuisine of the Sundanese people, Indonesia

Sundanese cuisine is the cuisine of the Sundanese people of Western Java, and Banten, Indonesia. It is one of the most popular foods in Indonesia. Sundanese food is characterised by its freshness; the famous lalab eaten with sambal and also karedok demonstrate the Sundanese fondness for fresh raw vegetables. Unlike the rich and spicy taste, infused with coconut milk and curry of Minangkabau cuisine, the Sundanese cuisine displays the simple and clear taste; ranged from savoury salty, fresh sourness, mild sweetness, to hot and spicy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nasi ulam</span> Indonesian rice dish

Nasi ulam is a traditional Indonesian dish of steamed rice (nasi) served with various herbs and vegetables (ulam).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betawi cuisine</span> Cuisine of the Betawi people of Jakarta, Indonesia

Betawi cuisine is rich, diverse and eclectic, in part because the Betawi people that create them were composed from numbers of regional immigrants that came from various places in the Indonesian archipelago, as well as Chinese, Indian, Arab, and European traders, visitors and immigrants that were attracted to the port city of Batavia since centuries ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tipat cantok</span> Balinese rice cake and vegetable salad in peanut sauce

Tipat cantok is a Balinese popular local dish. It is made of various boiled or blanched vegetables with ketupat rice cake, served in spicy peanut sauce. In the Balinese language tipat means ketupat, while cantok means grounding ingredients using mortar and pestle. Vegetables normally used in this dish are asparagus bean, beansprout, water spinach, and tofu. It is a common street food, popular among tourists as well as locals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ketupat</span> Indonesian dish that is made of rice in the shape of a diamond

Ketupat, or kupat, or tipat is a Javanese rice cake packed inside a diamond-shaped container of woven palm leaf pouch. Originating in Indonesia, it is also found in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and southern Thailand. It is commonly described as "packed rice", although there are other types of similar packed rice such as lontong and bakchang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soto (food)</span> Traditional Indonesian soup

Soto is a traditional Indonesian soup mainly composed of broth, meat, and vegetables. Many traditional soups are called soto, whereas foreign and Western influenced soups are called sop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rojak</span> Southeast Asian fruit and vegetable dish

Rujak or rojak is a salad dish of Javanese origin, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The most popular variant in all three countries is a salad composed of a mixture of sliced fruit and vegetables served with a spicy palm sugar dressing. It is often described as tangy and spicy fruit salad due to its sweet, hot and spicy dressing made from ground chilli, palm sugar and peanuts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karedok</span> Indonesian salad dish from West Java

Karedok is a raw vegetable salad in peanut sauce from Sundanese region, West Java, Indonesia. It is one of the Sundanese signature dish. It traditionally includes longbeans, cucumbers, bean sprouts, cabbage, legumes, lemon basil, chayotes and small green eggplant, covered in peanut sauce dressing, but there are now many variations. It is very similar to gado-gado, except all the vegetables are raw, while most of gado-gado vegetables are boiled, and it uses kencur, lemon basil and eggplant. Karedok is also known as lotek atah for its fresh and raw version of the vegetable covered with peanut sauce. Karedok is widely served as daily food in the Sundanese family, usually eaten with hot rice, tofu, tempeh, and krupuk. Nowadays karedok can be found in many variation from hawkers carts, stalls (warung) as well as in restaurants and hotels both in Indonesia and worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tauge goreng</span> Indonesian traditional dish

Tauge goreng is an Indonesian savoury vegetarian dish made of stir-fried tauge with slices of tofu, ketupat or lontong rice cake and yellow noodles, served in a spicy oncom-based sauce. Tauge goreng is a specialty of Jakarta and Bogor city, West Java, Indonesia. It is usually sold as street food using pikulan or gerobak (cart) by street vendors. It is a popular street food in Indonesia, especially in Jakarta, and Greater Jakarta areas, including Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indonesian noodles</span> Indonesian dish

Indonesian noodles are a significant aspect of Indonesian cuisine which is itself very diverse. Indonesian cuisine recognizes many types of noodles, with each region of the country often developing its own distinct recipes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotek (food)</span> Indonesian traditional food

Lotek is a Javanese (Indonesian) vegetable-based salad with peanut sauce. While the sauce ingredients are the same with that of pecel, lotek sauce is typically much sweeter to taste, a nod to a classic "Matraman" cuisine.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Luh De Suriyani (5 December 2013). "'Gado-gado' Ayu Minantri". Bali Daily. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "fakta gado gado kuliner khas betawi". (Indonesian)
  3. ↑ Sunny (2022-09-11). "Lontong Recipe: How to Make Authentic Lontong at Home". LOKATASTE.COM. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  4. ↑ "gado-gado". Dictionary.com.
  5. ↑ No Money, No Honey: A study of street traders and prostitutes in Jakarta by Alison Murray. Oxford University Press, 1992. Glossary page xii
  6. ↑ Media, Kompas Cyber. "Kemenpar Tetapkan 5 Makanan Nasional Indonesia, Ini Daftarnya - Kompas.com". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2018-04-18.
  7. ↑ "Menggado". 19 July 2012.
  8. ↑ "Gado-Gado Boplo" (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  9. ↑ Triwik Kurniasari and Maulina Sartika Pravitasari (15 August 2008). "Enjoying Jakarta through culinary nostalgia" . Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 Story, Ayana (20 June 2019). "Fakta Gado-gado, Kuliner Khas Betawi dengan Asal Usul yang Misterius". idntimes . Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Shidqiyyah, Septika (17 November 2018). "4 Cara Membuat Gado Gado, dari yang Sederhana, Gado Gado Betawi, Gado Gado Padang hingga Surabaya". liputan6 . Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Alva, Apriani (20 December 2016). "Kuliner Nusantara - Ini 5 Macam Gado-gado dari Penjuru Indonesia, Pernah Coba Nomor 5?". tribunnews . Retrieved 27 November 2020.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.