This recipe is inspired by Gado Gado, which is among the 5 National Dishes of Indonesia. It is a colorful and crunchy salad, made with a wide array of raw and steamed vegetables, tofu or tempeh, hard boiled egg, traditionally in a peanut dressing, served with a rice side like rice noodles, steamed rice or rice cakes.

For my version, I’ve stir fried some rice vermicelli & paneer and topped it all with lots of fresh veggies tossed in a basic vinaigrette on a bed of toasted cashew sauce. The dressing is usually peanut-based, but I have used cashews for my version. If you love colors and lots of fresh flavors on your plate, this recipe is for you.

Servings: 2
Calories: 325 per serving
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

For Cashew Sauce:

• ½ cups cashews
• ½ inch piece Ginger, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp. Tamari/ Soy sauce
• 1-2 Green Chilies, coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp. Sesame Oil
• 1½ tbsp. Lime Juice
• Salt, very little

For Paneer & Vermicelli:

• 2 tbsp. Sesame Oil
• 3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 75-100 gram Paneer
• 2 tsp. Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsp. Lime Juice
• 62.5 gram Rice Vermicelli/ Noodles
• Celery Salt
• Salt, big pinch
• ½ tsp. Black Pepper, crushed
• ½ Cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 Red Radishes, diced
• 1 Carrot, thinly sliced into rounds
• 1 Spring Onion, thinly sliced
• ½ Capsicum, diced
• ½ cup Sweet Corn, cooked
• 1 cup Coriander leaves, coarsely chopped
• ½ Red Chili, finely sliced

Method:

1. Roast the cashews on medium flame in a pan till nicely toasted and golden.
2. Transfer the toasted cashews to a blender. Add in ginger, chili, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, ¼ cup hot water and purée on high speed, adding more water if needed to adjust the consistency.
3. Take1½ tbsp. oil in a pan, once heated, add in the chopped garlic and saute. Add in the paneer cubes and let them get golden from outside, stirring in between over medium flame.
4. Meanwhile prepare the rice vermicelli according to the package instructions, rinse and drain them well.
5. Once the panner is nicely done, season it with some salt, pepper, soy sauce, ½ tbsp. lime juice and lightly mix in the prepared rice vermicelli.
6. In a large bowl, toss in all the prepared veggies with the remaining 1½ tbsp. lime juice, ½ tbsp. sesame oil and a big pinch of salt.
7. To finish the dish, spread the desired amount of cashew sauce in each plate and sprinkle some celery salt on the edges of the plate. Top the sauce with the stir fried rice vermicelli and the crunchy vegetable salad. Finish with some toasted, crushed cashews, chopped red chili and coriander on the top.

Notes:

1. Cashews can be replaced with peanuts, walnuts or pistachios.
2. I’ve used capsicum, carrots and sweetcorn for my vegetable salad. You can use any vegetables of your choice like red radishes, cucumber, etc.
3. Rice noodles can be used in place of rice vermicelli.
4. Tofu can be used in the same manner in place of paneer.
5. The consistency of the cashew sauce should be smooth and not too runny.
6. You can skip stir frying the rice noodles and serve them tossed in some lemon and salt, topping them with the stir fried paneer and crunchy vegetable salad.