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This Indonesian salad gado gado salad with quinoa is a super vibrant and healthy dinner that is a quick version of the original. It’s a mix of both raw and cooked veggies, eggs and crispy tofu with a delicious peanut dressing.
Why you’ll love this Indonesian gado gado salad with quinoa
This salad is:
- a no fuss, easy recipe without using a lot of pots + pans. Just 2 baking trays for all the veggies and tofu to cook. Less washing up is always a plus in my book 😉
- full of colorful veggies to brighten your day!
- Has delicious south East Asian flavors
- The tofu is not fried, but instead baked until crispy in the oven, making the dish a lot healthier and less greasy.
- Is full of plant-based protein and can be made vegan ( just omit the eggs)
- coated in a quick and easy peanut dressing. Instead of cooking a peanut sauce on the stove, the ingredients are simply stirred together.
This dish is based on the Indonesian classic : “gado gado”
Indonesian cuisine is really delicious and a lot of dishes are solely based on vegetables. This dish, called “gado gado” in Indonesian, is a well known vegetarian dish.
The dish includes both steamed and raw vegetables and is often made with carrots, bean sprouts, cucumbers, potatoes and green beans. It also contains some protein in the form of eggs and tofu or tempe. The salad isn’t complete with a peanut sauce on top and it is typically served over rice.
This Indonesian gado gado salad with quinoa is super easy + quick to make!
Making gado gado is always a bit of a fuss because you normally have to cook all vegetables in different pots and pans. You need to cook the eggs and fry up the tofu. Then you also need to make a peanut sauce on the stove. It can be a bit of a tedious process to be honest. So I wondered, could it be possible to simplify the process a little bit?
The oven
Lately I’ve been excited about baking tray dishes, meals that are made on one tray and that’s it. It’s a super convenient and quick way of cooking and I wanted to try and make a gado gado salad using the oven for a quicker and easier solution.
For this Indonesian gado gado salad, we’re using the oven to do most of the hard work. This recipe is therefore a lot quicker and easier to make than normally!
Easy + quick peanut dressing
To make things even less complicated , I also didn’t make a warm peanut sauce on the stove, but decided to make a quick and easy peanut dressing, which in my opinion is just as tasty, but a little more convenient.
Just mix everything together in a bowl for an easy but delicious peanut dressing.
What ingredients do you need to make this salad?
The ingredients to make this Indonesian gado gado salad with quinoa are:
- carrots
- cucumber
- Chinese cabbage
- green beans
- bean sprouts
- tofu
- eggs (optional)
- quinoa or brown rice
- Olive oil
- Salt + pepper
For the dressing you’re going to need the following ingredients:
- natural peanut butter
- honey, maple syrup or agave
- limes
- apple cider vinegar
- light soy sauce
- garlic
- ginger
- sesame oil
How to make this Indonesian gado gado salad with quinoa?
You start by layering all the veggies, except for the cucumber and bean sprouts on a baking tray. Layer the diced tofu on another and bake both trays in the oven. The tofu will be delicious, crispy and golden brown afterwards. After you’ve baked the vegetables and tofu, you simply mix them with the raw vegetables, the quinoa and the peanut dressing to make a delicious Asian inspired salad that’s full of nutrients.
Recipe tips + suggestions
- If you want the salad to be vegan, just omit the eggs
- You can replace the quinoa with cooked brown rice
Did you make this recipe?
I hope you like this Indonesian gado gado salad with quinoa as much as I did. If you liked it, please leave your comments + suggestions below!
Indonesian gado gado salad with quinoa, crunchy tofu and peanut dressing
Course: DinnerCuisine: IndonesianDifficulty: Easy2-3
servings20
minutes30
minutes–
kcalThis Indonesian salad gado gado salad with quinoa is a super vibrant and healthy dinner that is a quick version of the original. It’s a mix of both raw and cooked veggies, eggs and crispy tofu with a delicious peanut dressing.
Ingredients
- For the salad:
2 large carrots, cut in match sticks
1/2 cucumber, cut lengthwise and then sliced
1/2 Chinese cabbage , cut roughly
2 hands full green beans (200 gram), stalks
removed and cut in half
Big hand full bean sprouts (125 grams)
500 grams tofu, drained, cut in 1 cm chunks
2 eggs ( optional)
100 grams uncooked quinoa or brown rice
Olive oil
Salt + pepper
- For the peanut dressing:
2 full tbsp natural peanut butter
3 tbsp honey, maple syrup or agave
2 limes
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp water
1 garlic clove
Knob of ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
Directions
- To prepare the salad:
- Preheat oven to 200 c. Arrange the tofu on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Arrange the Chinese cabbage on another baking tray, put the carrots and green beans on top and add a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Put the trays in the oven and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. The tofu should look golden brown and should be slightly crispy and the vegetables should be cooked.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing by adding everything to a blender and blend until a smooth and runny dressing.
- Cook the quinoa or rice according to the package instructions and boil the eggs for 10 minutes until hard boiled.
- When done, add the bean sprouts to a strainer and drain the boiled water of the eggs on top of the bean sprouts to wilt them a little. Run cool tap water over the bean sprouts and the eggs to let them cool again. Peel the eggs and cut them in half.
- To assemble:
- Arrange the cooked vegetables on a big serving plate and top with the cucumber, bean sprouts, eggs, crispy tofu and cooked, slightly cooled quinoa.
- Drizzle the peanut dressing over the top and enjoy this salad warm or cold.
Notes
- The salad can be made vegan, just omit the eggs.
- You can replace the quinoa with cooked brown rice or other whole grains of choice.
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