Mixed Vegetable Salad With Peanut Sauce (Gado-Gado) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 package chinese-style firm tofu
1 teaspoon ketjap manis
oil (for deep frying)
6 cups vegetables
hard-cooked egg, for garnish
fried onion flakes (to garnish)
GADO GADO SAUCE
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced, fresh galangal or 1 teaspoon ground galangal
1 teaspoon dried shrimp paste
1/2 teaspoon ground dried chile or 1/4 teaspoon sambal oelek
1 cup oil
1/2 cup raw peanuts
1 teaspoon brown sugar or 1 teaspoon palm sugar
1 cup thin coconut milk (The thin stuff from the bottom of a can of coconut milk.)
salt, to taste
1/2 lime, juice of, , to taste

Preparation

(a variety of the following): cabbage, in 1-inch squares; bean sprouts; carrots, sliced or julienned; green beans, in 2-inch pieces; potatoes or sweet potatoes in large dice; sliced cucumbers; watercress sprigs; tomato wedges.
This is from a new cookbook I just got.
Haven't tried this recipe yet, but it looks dead on.
This is a rather free-form salad of lightly cooked vegetables; the exact contents depend on what is available.
What makes it gado-gado is the dressing, a creamy peanut sauce.
Remove tofu from package and drain.
Place on a plate lined with cloth or paper towels, top with another layer of towel and an inverted plate, and place a weight of a pound or more on top.
Let stand for 30 minutes, unwrap, and discard liquid.
Cut tofu into bite-sized squares or triangles and sprinkle with kecap manis.
Fry in 350F oil until golden brown and puffy; transfer to paper towels to drain.
Reserve oil to cook peanuts.
One at a time, blanch vegetables in lightly salted water, rinsing them in cold water to stop cooking as soon as they reach the desired degree of doneness.
Cabbage and bean sprouts require only a few seconds; carrots, green beans, and potatoes may take several minutes depending on size and tenderness.
Do not blanch cucumbers, watercress, and tomatoes.
use them raw.
Place Gado-Gado Sauce in a small bowl in the center of a large platter.
Arrange vegetables on platter around sauce.
Garnish with wedges or slices of hard-cooked egg and fried onion flakes.
To serve, spoon some sauce onto each plate and dip vegetables into sauce.
Serves 4 to 6 with other dishes.
--------------GADO-GADOSAUCE----------------.
To prepare sauce in a mortar: Pound garlic, shallot, galangal, shrimp paste, and chile to a paste.
To prepare sauce in a blender: Chop together in a 1-cup jar.
In a wok or deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until a peanut sizzles on contact.
Fry peanuts until lightly browned; transfer to paper towels to drain.
When peanuts have cooled, grind in a mortar or food processor to a coarse, grainy paste, adding a little oil if necessary to facilitate blending.
(May be made up to a week ahead and stored covered in refrigerator.) Remove all but 2 tablespoons oil from pan and reserve for another use.
Return pan to medium-low heat and add pounded mixture.
Cook until quite fragrant, but do not burn.
Add peanuts, sugar, and coconut milk and bring to a boil, stirring.
Simmer until thick and season to taste with salt and lime juice.
Allow to coot to room temperature before serving.