Georgina Hayden’s charred corn gado gado. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay. Food styling assistant: Laura Lawrence.
A great way to pack in your vegetables, while adding pops of colour to your rotation of meals
I am still making large, nourishing and vibrant salads, with gado gado being one of my favourites. It is a well-loved Indonesian salad, and something I devoured almost daily when we travelled around the islands many moons ago. It is also an excellent way of eating an abundance of veg, and can be made to suit your taste. If I was going all out, I’d add tofu or tempeh, some prawn crackers and beansprouts, but feel free to make the bowl as you wish, with whatever you have to hand – have a play.
Charred corn gado gado
For those who have a peanut allergy, this dressing works well with good-quality almond butter, too.
Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 4
2 tbsp vegetable or groundnut oil
1 tbsp red Thai curry paste
80g pure peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp light soft brown sugar
200ml coconut milk
Sea salt and white pepper
Juice of 1 lime,plus 1 lime, quartered, to serve
300g baby potatoes
4 large eggs
150g green beans, trimmed
2 ears of corn
100g baby spinach, washed
½ bunch coriander, leaves picked and chopped
Start by making the dressing. Pour the oil into a small saucepan, add the curry paste and fry, stirring, for a few minutes. Stir in the peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar and 175ml of the coconut milk, then season with salt and white pepper, and bring to a gentle boil.
Add the lime juice and simmer for five minutes, until thick, rich and creamy. Add the remaining 25ml coconut milk, simmer for a further minute, then take off the heat and leave to cool.
Meanwhile, get the rest of the salad ready. Put the potatoes in a pan of salted cold water, bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes, until tender. Boil the eggs for seven minutes for just-set yolks, give the beans six minutes and the corn five minutes.
Drain everything, leave to cool, then stand the corn ears upright and carefully cut off the kernels. Assemble the bowls with all the different components in sections: a quarter of the potatoes, the green beans, the shaved corn, a handful of spinach leaves and a boiled egg cut into quarters. Drizzle over the cooled sauce, and serve topped with a scattering of coriander and with a wedge of lime for squeezing over.
