Gado-Gado

Gado-gado is blanched vegetables, boiled egg, tofu and tempeh arranged over pressed rice cakes and drenched in a thick peanut sauce. It's Jakarta's own vegetable salad, developed in the Betawi kitchens of the capital, and its name — roughly "mix-mix" — describes exactly what's happening on the plate: whatever vegetables are in season, brought together under one unifying sauce.

What it really is

A mix of vegetables — typically cabbage, bean sprouts, long beans and spinach — blanches just until tender-crisp, kept distinct from raw salad greens by that brief cooking. They arrange on a plate alongside sliced boiled egg, cubes of fried tofu and tempeh, and slices of pressed rice cake, then a thick peanut sauce, seasoned with palm sugar, tamarind and chilli, pours generously over the whole plate. Unlike a Western salad with dressing on the side, the sauce here is substantial enough to be a defining component rather than a finishing touch.

The vegetables and their exact mix vary household to household, but the peanut sauce doesn't. What makes a gado-gado a gado-gado is that specific sweet, tangy, spicy peanut sauce — the vegetables underneath are flexible by design, built around whatever's fresh and available.

How it's served

• At room temperature, sauce poured generously over the arranged plate.
• With prawn crackers (krupuk) on the side.
• As a full meal on its own, common for lunch.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the peanuts, egg and soy.
• It's naturally vegetarian; note if a vegan version without egg is available.
• Say what vegetables are included, since the mix genuinely varies by kitchen.