Gado-Gado, Ottolenghi-Style

Here is my variant on Gado-Gado, adapted from the version in Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

To make it as written I would budget about an hour and a half, maybe more. But you can take some shortcuts if you want (it just might not be quite as yummy!)

Note: I haven't actually made the OTHER Gado-Gado on this blog since I posted it.. it was probably easier but I would say this is definitely yummier. The other one has some interesting topping ideas too though, and could be a good option if you're lacking in fancy ingredients like galangal and tamarind.

Totally worth the time to make the super satay sauce from scratch. I will write it out as I made it, which includes a small substitution as I couldn't get a hold of fresh galangal. If you can find it, the original calls for using fresh galangal in the place of the fresh ginger and dried galangal.

Ideally you will read through this whole recipe and think through your timing, as you may want to overlap preparing the salad with making the sauce in ways that make sense for the ingredients you choose.

Satay Sauce

This is the slow part and it could definitely be done ahead of time if you're organized. If you're rushed for time or want to use ingredients you're more likely to have on hand, you could always skip this part and make awesome no-cook peanut sauce instead.

Ingredients

• 4 peeled garlic cloves
• 1 roughly chopped lemongrass stalk
• 2.5 tbsp sambal oelek (makes for a sauce with some heat, but not really spicy... if I were making this for kids I would probably reduce the quantity or maybe just make them some kid-friendly peanut sauce and keep this deluxe sauce for those brave enough to eat it!)
• roughly the equivalent of a 5" long piece of fresh ginger (about 1-1.5" in diameter), peeled
• 2 slices of dried galangal, rehydrated in a small bowl of boiling water for a few minutes, cut into small bits (if you don't have dried galangal, just do a little more ginger instead)
• 4 medium shallots, peeled (this is probably the most annoying part of the recipe)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 tbsp salt
• 7 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp thick tamarind water (rehydrate about 1/4 cup tamarind in about 1/2-3/4 cup of boiling water, let sit at least 10 minutes or so, stir it together and mash the tamarind with a fork, then press out the liquid through a sieve)
• 1 1/2 cups roasted unsalted peanuts
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 cup coconut milk

Method

1. Use a small food processor or hand blender to crush the garlic, lemongrass, sambal oelek, ginger, galangal pieces, and shallots into a homogeneous paste.
2. Heat up the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the paste from step 1 and cook over medium-low heat for 40-50 minutes (until the oil starts to separate). Stir regularly. 
• While the paste is cooking...
• Prepare the tamarind water
• Combine the salt, sugar, and paprika in a small bowl
• Crush peanuts roughly in a food processor - leave them a bit chunky. Put the peanuts and water into a small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until the mixture thickens and most of the water has evaporated
3. Add the salt, sugar and paprika mixture to the pot with the paste. Also add the tamarind water. Stir and cook for 10 minutes more.
4. Add the cooked peanut mixture to the cooked spice paste then stir in the coconut milk

Spice paste is done.. keep it somewhere warm.

The Salad Part

This part is relatively quick - the time-consuming pieces are preparing tofu, roasting yams, and cooking rice... the rest is pretty speedy.

Ingredients (and some Method)

Note: you could do this part with basically whatever ingredients you want... the sauce is the key! But I will outline what I did today here. Note that in the original recipe there are potatoes instead of the rice and yams, and various other differences. 

These ingredients should be prepared first (like before or while you make the sauce) as they will take some time:

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice. Cook this according to package directions or using your preferred method.
• 4 small yams, cleaned and sliced into 1/2" to 3/4" rounds (no need to peel) - toss these with some olive oil and kosher salt then roast in the oven at the same time as you roast your tofu (about 30-40 minutes, flip them over about half way through)...
• 1 block of extra firm tofu, prepared according to instructions in my post "The best way to prepare tofu" (you can roast the tofu and the yams at the same time)

These ingredients will cook quickly and the process is described below:

• 1 very small or half of a medium-large cabbage, cut into chunks (I cut a very small cabbage in half and then each half into 4 wedges, then halved the wedges to make 8 chunks per half cabbage)
• 1-2 cups bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
• 1-2 cups green beans, washed and trimmed
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
• Something crunchy to sprinkle on top. I used these yam chips from Hardbite. The original recipe calls for crisp-fried shallots and cassava chips

Method (the rest of it)

1. If you haven't already, get the rice, tofu, and yams started cooking (see notes above). You should also hard boil your eggs if you haven't done that yet. See below for tips if you need them.
2. Once your sauce, rice, tofu, yams, and eggs are done ready... 
• Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil
• While the water is heating up, spread the cooked rice out in the bottom of a large casserole dish or serving platter
• When the water comes to a boil, add the cabbage and blanch it for 1 minute, then remove and drain it (I used a large slotted spoon to fish out as much as I could). Spread the cabbage out in a layer over the cooked rice
• Add the bean sprouts to the boiling water and blanch for 30 seconds, then remove and drain them. Layer these over the cabbage and rice
• Add the green beans to the boiling water and blanch for 4 minutes then drain. Layer green beans over the cabbage, rice, and bean sprouts.
• You're done the cooking part - go ahead and turn off the water pot.
3. If you need some time to finish getting other things ready, put the casserole/serving platter somewhere warm.
4. Before serving, layer the roasted tofu chunks and yam slices on top everything already added to the casserole/platter.
5. Serve the salad with the satay sauce, chopped cilantro, quartered eggs, and crispy chips on the side so everyone can add these in whatever quantity they like.

Kat's delicious dumpling dipping sauce

One of our go-to lunches is the Sum-m! Sesame Ginger Dumplings from Costco (which we keep in the freezer) with dipping sauce and salad. The dumplings come with sauce but in my opinion this one is far superior! 

When we're feeling splurgy, we get the dumplings from Dumpling Drop instead. If we were really on the ball, we would make our own dumplings... it's really not that difficult! And I know, from witnessing it firsthand, that they can even be assembled by headlamp in the bow of a canoe for a truly gourmet camping meal (first night only to make sure the filling is fresh).

Ingredients:

Roughly equal parts of the following (I normally use about 1.5-2tbs I think?):

• Soya sauce
• Rice vinegar

 Slightly less but almost the same amount of:

• Sweet chili sauce 

A few drops of:

• Sesame oil

(Optional) Either a little or quite a lot of:

• Minced cilantro 

Directions:

Put all of the above into a small bowl and mix well. 

Substitutions/alternatives:

• If all you have is soya sauce and rice vinegar, then roughly equal parts of each makes a perfectly fine sauce. 
• If you don't have rice vinegar, try to use something else reasonably mild but reduce the quantity by a little bit (eg. white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar can work but don't use too much)
• If you prefer a spicier sauce that is less sweet, consider using Sambal Olek instead of the sweet chili sauce (you may want to use slightly less). Or if you want spicy and sweet, just add some in!
• The cilantro is certainly not necessary, but if you have it, it is a very nice addition!
• If you don't have the sesame oil, just omit it.
  

Sweet and Sticky Tofu bowls

 based on https://spicysouthernkitchen.com/asian-garlic-tofu/

Ingredients:

• 1 block of extra firm tofu
• 1-2 heads of broccoli cut into small florets
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt to taste
  
• rice
  

Sauce:

• 1/4 c hoisin sauce
• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  

 Garnish:

• Toasted sesame seeds
• diced spring onion or cilantro or...

Method:

1. Put the rice on to cook (and set a timer to cook for an appropriate amount of time.. no hand-holding on this part!)
   
2. Prepare tofu by slicing into 3 slabs horizontally, placing them on a clean folded tea towel on a large plate, place another clean tea towel on top followed by another plate, then put something heavy on top of that to press the excess water out. Leave for 10 - 30 minutes or more.
3. Meanwhile... mix together the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.
   
4. Cut the tofu into small bite-sized cubes and toss in the sauce. Leave to marinate about 30 minutes
   
5. Meanwhile, prepare the broccoli for roasting by tossing in a bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil and salt to your taste. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and heat the oven to about 375F. 
   
6. Put broccoli in oven and roast for about 15-20 minutes then flip and roast a further 15-20 minutes on the other side (until crispy and tasty)
7. (This would be a good time to toast your sesame seeds in a dry frying pan if they're not ready yet)
   
8. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan (cast iron or otherwise). When oil is hot, add in the tofu without too much of the sauce (but don't worry if a bunch goes in). Spread it out in a single layer and fry/sear (mine didn't get crispy since I put all the sauce in but it was still delish). Ideally, cook till crispy then flip to the other side and fry till seared.
9. At this point I would add the rest of the sauce to the pan and cook it a bit longer, stirring frequently.
10. Toss the sesame oil and diced spring onion/cilantro with the cooked tofu (either in the pan or a large bowl)
    
11. Assemble in bowls with rice, roasted broccoli, tofu, and sesame seeds sprinkled over top.
    

Yummy speedy vegetarian pasta sauce

This is a shortcut pasta sauce very loosely based on a recipe I haven't tried but that sounds delish if you have time to go for it: https://www.happyveggiekitchen.com/spaghetti-sauce/

I will write down approximately what I did, though there's certainly room for some variation and these measurements are not precise.

Ingredients

• 1 can tomatoes (I used diced ones but doesn't really matter)
• roughly 1.5-2tbs tomato paste
• 1/2 can sliced mushrooms
•  a good swig of worcestershire sauce (maybe 1/2 tsp?) 
• 3 cloves minced/sliced garlic
• 1/2 onion, diced small
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup red wine
• glug of olive oil
• roughly 1 tsp mixed italian herbs (oregano, basil, etc)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbs brown sugar
  

Method

Again, I will write what I did (as best I remember it), which probably sped things up a bit, but you could just doing everything in one pot and add the tomatoes and tomato paste after frying everything up, if you want to save on some dishes.

1. Empty the can of tomatoes into a medium-large pot and heat to simmering
2. Meanwhile, heat a cast iron frying pan on another burner then add olive oil. The next bunch of steps happen in the frying pan (until you combine everything again in step 10).
   
3. Fry garlic till fragrant
4. Add onions and fry a bit
5. Add mushrooms and fry some more, stirring periodically
6. Season generously with salt and pepper
   
7. Once you've cooked off some steam/liquid, add in the worcestershire sauce and stir well
   
8.  Add balsamic vinegar and fry briefly, stirring constantly
9. Add red wine and cook until liquid evaporates, stirring constantly
10. Add herbs, stir, then empty the contents of the frying pan into the simmering tomatoes
11. Stir in tomato paste and brown sugar (add extra tomato paste if it seems too runny and you don't have time to cook it down)
    
12. Continue to simmer the sauce while you prepare your pasta and the rest of your meal
13. Either leave it chunky or give it a whiz with an immersion blender

Enjoy!

 

Pesach Cake

The ever-elusive Pesach Cake recipe
This is a no-flour, no leavening cake that is traditional for Pesach/Passover.

Had no slivered almonds, so I used all sliced

Ingredients

• 6 (large) eggs, separated
• 250g caster sugar (or use berry sugar OR take regular white sugar and process in food processor until it is very fine)
• 1 pinch salt
• rind of 1/2 lemon
• 250g finely ground mixed nuts (eg. almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts) 

Topping

• 100g semi-sweet dark chocolate
• smooth apricot jam
• slivered and sliced almonds to decorate

Method

Making the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line a springform pan with parchment paper on the bottom and grease well up sides and on the parchment
3. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks in one bowl and set aside
4. In another bowl, beat egg yolks until creamy. Beat in sugar, salt, and lemon rind.
5. To the yolk mixture, add the ground nuts and mix gently by hand
6. Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture, taking your time to reach an even consistency
7. Pour the cake batter into the pan. Bake 35-40 mins.
8. Allow the cake to cool slightly before opening the springform pan and flipping the cake onto a cooling rack. You may want to grease the cooling rack first, as the cake always sticks to it otherwise! Remove the pan bottom and parchment

Decorating

1. Once the cake has cooled, flip onto a serving platter (or first flip on an intermediate plate then flip upside-down again as the bottom surface may be smoother)
2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or a double-boiler (if using a microwave, stir frequently and melt in short bursts to avoid lumps). 
3. Depending on your chocolate, you may want to carefully stir in 2-4tbs boiling hot water to make it a little runnier and easier to spread (we didn't have to do this).
4. Using a rubber spatula, spread a thin layer of apricot jam all over the top and sides of the cake.
5. Spread a thin layer of the melted chocolate over top of the jam on the top and sides of the cake
6. Use the slivered and sliced almonds to decorate (traditional for Pesach is a Magen David on top and some sliced almonds pressed into the sides)

The best way to prepare tofu

Simple, sure-fire, quick way to prepare tofu for snacking or using in any other recipe. If you do this, it will taste way better than if you just use the tofu straight from the fridge.
Recipe comes from Cookie and Kate - check out her site for way more info and fantastic recipe ideas:
https://cookieandkate.com/how-to-make-crispy-baked-tofu/#tasty-recipes-24123

Ingredients

• 1 block extra-firm tofu
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs soya sauce
• 1 tbs corn starch

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Rinse the tofu
3. Squish as much water out of the tofu as you can: 

• slice it into 3(ish) big slabs
• lay them out on a plate or board with a clean tea towel folded underneath
• cover with another folded tea towel 
• put another plat or board on top with something heavy on that (eg. a big stack of plates or a cast iron pan)
• leave as long as you can, within reason (up to 30 min or so, but even just 5-10 helps

4.  Cut the slabs of tofu into bite-sized chunks or fingers of your preferred dimensions
5. Put tofu in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil
6. Add the soya sauce and toss to coat again
7. Add the cornstarch and toss once more. Don't worry if the coverage isn't perfect.
8. Spread out in one layer over a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
9. Bake 25-30 minutes, flipping tofu about halfway through

Tofu should be crispy and tasty! Dip it in peanut sauce as a tasty snack or add to a stir fry or thai curry or whatever else you feel like making with tofu.

Awesome no-cook peanut sauce

It's from Cookie and Kate. https://cookieandkate.com/peanut-dipping-sauce/
This version is simplified a little teeny bit, so check out the original for more ideas.
It's so good. The kids love it on everything!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups peanut butter
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar (I have replaced with apple cider but it was a bit strong - I'd reduce the quantity)
• 1/3 cup soya sauce
• 3 tbs honey
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger (or use 1.5 tsp fresh)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2-4 tbs water

Method

1. Mix everything together except the water
2. Add water as needed to get to the desired consistency. It will be a bit runny.

That's it!

Dip stuff in or add to a bland stir fry.

Make rice bowls and pour over top.

Do as you wish. Maybe don't put it on ice cream though..