Gado-Gado (Indonesian Veggie Salad In A Spicy Peanut Dressing - cooking recipe

Ingredients

For the salad
100 g bean sprouts
100 g cabbage, washed and shredded
100 g bean curd, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons peanut oil or 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
100 g potatoes, cooked, peeled and sliced
100 g green beans, blanched
100 g carrots, washed, sliced and blanched
100 g cucumbers, washed and sliced (with the peel on)
For the dressing
100 g flaked coconut (fresh or desiccated)
1 cup hot water
1 onion, peeled, washed and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled, washed and finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons peanut oil
100 g peanut butter
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
salt
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Preparation

Put the coconut in a blender.
Add 1 cup of hot{not boiling} water.
Cover and blend on high speed for about 1/2 a minute.
Heat the oil in a 2 quart-sized saucepan.
Toss in the onion and garlic.
Stir-fry for 5 minutes.
Stir in the remaining ingredients for the dressing and the blended coconut-water mixture.
Bring to a boil, stirring continuosuly as you do so.
Lower flame and allow the sauce to simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it thickens.
This takes about 3 minutes.
Now, start preparing the salad.
In a bowl, put the cabbage and bean sprouts.
Add enough boiling water over these veggies to cover'em.
Let this stand for 2 minutes.
Drain completely.
In a pan, fry the bean curd in oil, over medium flame, turning the pieces over gently, until it is light brown in colour.
Remove and drain on clean kitchen paper towels.
Toss in the potatoes into the same skillet.
Stir and cook until they turn light brownish in colour.
On a beautiful silver platter, arrange the bean sprouts, cabbage and other veggies nicely.
Pour the warm dressing over the salad or serve it separately as a dip- your choice!
Enjoy!