one of the national dishes of indonesia, gado gado is a ‘mix mix’ of vegetables and rice in a rich peanut sauce. I like to use quinoa at times for a lighter option, but you can sub in other grains as well. you can also make it a heartier meal by adding traditional fixings like boiled eggs, tofu or tempeh. feel free to also add whatever vegetables your heart desires, as the peanut sauce goes well with just about everything.

Serves 4

Ingredients (Bowl)

1 large sweet potato, peeled, quartered and sliced into 1-cm thick pieces
1/2 tbsp. cooking oil, like canola or avocado
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
salt
1 cup uncooked quinoa or rice
water
1/4 lb. / 113 g. sugar snap peas or green beans, destringed
1 bell pepper (for more colour, use 1/2 red, 1/2 yellow), cut into bite-sized strips
1/4 red cabbage, shredded
cilantro, chopped
sesame seeds, to garnish
fried garlic, to garnish

Ingredients (Peanut Sauce)

1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tbsps. gf tamari
2 tbsps. lime juice
2 tbsps. maple syrup
1 tbsp. sambal oelek
1 tbsp. water (more if you want a thinner sauce)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a mixing bowl, toss sweet potatoes in oil, paprika, garlic powder, and salt. Roast on a lined baking sheet for 15-20, until cooked through and golden brown.

In a medium pot, cook quinoa or rice. For quinoa, cook in 2 cups of water for 18 minutes with lid ajar on a very low simmer. For rice, rinse in a strainer. Cook in 2 cups of water for 18 minutes with lid ajar, turn off the heat and let sit for another 10 minutes.

In a small to medium pot, bring salted water to a boil. Blanch beans or peas until water begins to boil again, about 1-2 minutes. Strain and shock in cold water.

Prep bell pepper, red cabbage, and cilantro.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients from peanut butter to water. Transfer into a squeeze bottle for easy dispensing.

Assemble bowls with quinoa or rice, sweet potatoes, beans or peas, bell pepper, and red cabbage. Garnish with cilantro, sesame seeds and fried garlic. Drizzle or spoon peanut sauce over the bowls and serve.