Indonesia is blessed with a diversity of people, race, languages, islands, and the most important thing is food. Food is the source of energy in life. With the variety of spices and herbs Indonesian food is never forgotten. Luckily in the Netherlands we can find most of the spices and herbs we need to cook Indonesian food.  And by the end of this blog you can get the recipe on how to make lotek and gado-gado, delicious Indonesian salads. Keep reading to find out which food you can make.

Food connects people. In Indonesia the guest is the king. When guests enter the house they will be offered hot tea or coffee. As a side a cookie or variety of snacks is offered to eat. It doesn’t really matter how late you visit the people’s house, they will give you a meal, usually rice, chicken and vegetables. And last but not least krupuk and sambal. So overwhelming, isn’t it? Yummy…

After experiencing this, Indonesian food is not only delicious but also memorable. Last week we asked people on Instagram what their favourite Indonesian food was. And most of the  people said Lotek and Gado-gado.

What is Gado-Gado?

So this time we will explain what gado-gado is and what lotek is. Lotek and Gado-gado are Indonesian salads. In general both of them may look similar but actually they are a bit different.

First, from the vegetables that contain it. Most of the vegetables are boiled first. But gado-gado is a combination of boiled vegetables and raw vegetables. The boiled vegetables are green vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, long beans, bean sprouts, potatoes. The raw or unboiled vegetables, namely fried cucumber, tomatoes and lettuce. Inside gado-gado we can find boiled potatoes, fried tempeh and tofu.

Second, the peanut sauce is on the top of the salad as a dressing. The peanut sauce is made from peanuts that have been fried and mashed with a mixture of garlic, chilies, pepper, lime juice, salt and brown sugar etc. In addition, Gado-gado can be served with rice cake or ketupat as a boost to hunger in the stomach. Sometimes, gado-gado is also given additional sliced ​​boiled eggs.

How to make Gado-gado

Ingredient 1 (additional to serve):

• 125 g Tempe
• 125 g Tofu
• 200 ml of Cooking Oil

Material 2 (spices mix):

• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Coriander Powder
• 3 tbsp Water
• One red chili, boiled
• green chili, 1
• tsp Salt, 1
• 2 pieces of red chili
• 2 cloves of garlic, fried whole
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 75 g Coconut sugar, combed
• 150 g Peanuts, which have been fried and ground or mashed
• 1 lime, take the water
• 100 ml of tamarind water

Material 3 (vegetables mix):

• 1 Potato, boiled
• Long Beans, cut into 2 cm, brewed, 50 g
• Carrots, brewed, 50 g
• Cabbage, coarsely chopped and then brewed, 50 g
• Bean sprouts, brewed, 50 g

Material 6 (additional to serve):

• 2 rice cake (lontong)
• 1 Chicken Egg, boiled
• 50 g Chips
• 2 tbsp Fried Onion
• Cucumber, sliced

How to make:

1. Heat cooking oil, fry all material 1 without seasoning, then put a side.
2. Blend material 2 in the blender until smooth
3. Then cook in the pan for 10 minutes until it boils.
4. Put material 3 on the plate and pour the peanut sauce.
5. To serve, add pieces of rice cake, crackers, chips, boiled eggs, sliced cucumber, tomatoes, and fried tofu and fried tempe.
6. Serve while warm with a sprinkling of fried onions

 

What is Lotek?

Lotek originally came from West Java. The vegetables are boiled spinach, cabbage and bean sprouts to make Lotek. The specialty of Lotek is that the sauce contains galangal and shrimp paste. Uniquely seasoning tastes sweeter than gado-gado. After all we pour vegetables in the peanut sauce. Then we mix the vegetables and the peanut sauce. As a side dish, lotek is served with krupuk and fried onions. Similar to gado-gado, lotek can also be served with rice cake or ketupat as a substitute for rice.

How to make Lotek

Spices mix:

• 0,5 cm galangal
• 1 garlic
• 2 lime leaves
• ½ tsp shrimp paste
• 1 chili
•  Salt, ½ tsp
• ½ cup of fried peanut
• 50 ml water
• 2 Tsp tamarind water

Vegetables mix:

• ½ Tomato
• 3 cm of cucumber
• 2 Lettuce
• Cabbage, 50 gram, boiled
• Spinach, 50 gram,  boiled
• Bean sprouts, 50 gram,  boiled

Additional to serve:

• Bakwan (vegetable mix fried)
• Lontong
• Kerupuk or emping
• Fried onions

How to make:

1. Blend spices mix with a blender or with stone. Then put it on the plate
2. Put vegetable mix including bakwan and lontong and mix it together.
3. Serve with kerupuk and fried onions.

So now, you know how to make Lotek and Gado-gado. But the real Lotek and Gado-Gado served in the small warung using real stone and fresh every morning is the best Lotek and Gado-Gado that you can eat. If you are curious about the real Lotek and Gado-Gado you are always welcome to Indonesia. With Intern Indonesia you can also do your internship, volunteering, research or a free minor. Then you can try these foods yourself in Yogyakarta during study or volunteering work. We, Intern Indonesia will help you along the way and provide everything that you need. Do you want to know more? Please contact us.

 

Website: www.intern-indonesia.com

E-mail: info@intern-indonesia.com

Instagram: Intern_Indonesia

Facebook: Intern Indonesia