Gado-Gado Siram
(gah-doh gah-doh see-rahm)
The Weeknight Lauk
Scoop the thick gravy and sweep it over the bowl, leaving the peanut sauce pooling at the edges. A real Surabaya-style siram requires frying peanuts and aromatics to unlock deep, savory Maillard notes, then simmering them with coconut milk, tamarind, and the funky, oceanic sweetness of black shrimp paste. Make a big batch on Sunday. Come Tuesday, just blanch some long beans, fry a little tofu, and drench the whole beautiful mess. Crush a handful of store-bought krupuk over the top, mix it all together, and eat.
Ingredients
- raw skin-on peanuts1 1/2 cup
- garlic clove5 med
- Fresno chilies3 large
- Thai bird's eye chilies4 small
- russet potato1 med
- full-fat coconut milk2 cup
- dark palm sugar1/2 cup
- tamarind concentrate2 tbsp
- petis udang1 tbsp
- kosher salt1 1/2 tsp
- makrut lime leaves2 large
- neutral oil1/2 cup
- green cabbage2 cup
- green beans1 cup
- fresh bean sprouts1 cup
- firm tofu14 oz
- tempeh8 oz
- eggs2 large
- cucumber1 small
- Bibb lettuce1 small
- fried shallots1/4 cup
- prawn crackers1 cup
Method
- 01
Fry the peanuts and aromatics to build the base flavor.
Heat a half-inch of neutral oil in a wok or deep skillet over medium heat. Fry the peanuts until deep golden brown, then remove and drain on paper towels. In the same oil, flash-fry the garlic and chilies until blistered and softened, about two minutes.
- 02
Grind the fried ingredients into a coarse paste.
Transfer the fried peanuts, garlic, chilies, and the boiled potato to a food processor. Pulse until smooth, adding a splash of coconut milk if needed to get the blades moving, but leaving a slight, traditional grit to the peanuts.
- 03
Simmer and emulsify the peanut sauce.
Move the paste to a medium saucepan. Stir in the remaining coconut milk, palm sugar, tamarind water, shrimp paste, salt, and lime leaves. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly so the bottom doesn't scorch, until the sauce thickens and a thin sheen of red oil separates and pools at the edges—about 15 minutes.
- 04
Store the sauce for the week ahead.
Let the sauce cool completely. Store it in an airtight jar in the refrigerator, where it will keep perfectly for up to two weeks.
- 05
Blanch the sturdy vegetables.
When ready to eat, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Boil the green beans for two minutes, then the cabbage for one minute, removing them with a spider and immediately plunging them into cold water. Finally, steep the bean sprouts in the boiling water for exactly ten seconds to warm them while retaining their crunch.
- 06
Fry the proteins.
In a skillet with a little oil, pan-fry the tofu cubes and tempeh strips until deeply golden and crisp on all sides.
- 07
Assemble the platter and drench in sauce.
Arrange the raw lettuce and cucumber around the edges of a wide bowl. Pile the blanched vegetables, fried tofu, tempeh, and boiled eggs in the center. Warm your prepared peanut sauce—thinning with a splash of hot water if needed—and pour it generously over the entire dish.
- 08
Garnish with fried shallots and crackers.
Shower the plate uncompromisingly with crispy shallots and serve immediately with a side of prawn crackers to scoop up every last drop of the sauce.
Notes
Understand your shrimp paste.
Petis udang is a sweet, black shrimp paste that defines East Javanese cooking. If you can only find standard terasi (belacan), toast it lightly and mix it with a little molasses to replicate that deep, sweet oceanic funk.
Don't toss the salad.
Gado-Gado Siram is a poured salad. Do not toss it before serving; half the joy of the dish is dragging the vegetables through the sauce as you eat.
Shortcut the peanuts safely.
If you can't find raw skin-on peanuts, standard roasted, unsalted peanuts work perfectly fine. But do not skip flash-frying them; the hot oil reawakens the nuts and triggers the essential Maillard reaction.