Since the 17th century, Jakarta, or more precisely Batavia which is what it was called during the Dutch colonial era, had attracted an influx of people—not just from different regions now part of Indonesia, but also from Europe, mainland China, the South Asia subcontinent, and the Arabian peninsula—looking to capitalise in the vast commercial opportunities, especially during the city's growth spurt in the second half of the 19th century.

This mixture of people and culture for hundreds of years formed a new creole ethnic group that had ancestors from various parts of Indonesia and abroad. They were called Betawi, or people of Batavia, and thus a dish that reflected what they have become was born: gado-gado.

For those who are unfamiliar with Indonesian cuisine, gado-gado is an Indonesian salad that consists of raw or blanch vegetables combined with tempeh and/or tofu, boiled egg, and poured with a savoury-sweet-spicy peanut dressing, topped off with garlic crackers called 'krupuk' and fried sliced shallots. This salad is enjoyed throughout Indonesia and can be found sold at street vendors, specialty restaurants, and even luxury five star hotels.

The origins of gado-gado

There is no consensus of how gado-gado got its origins. Food historians have found different versions of how this salad became a traditional dish of the Betawi but agree that it was highly likely born from acculturation.

The Mataram-Chinese Peranakan theory

This version traces gado-gado to around 1628-1629, when the Mataram Sultanate—a Javanese Islamic kingdom—besieged Batavia. Due to the lack of provisions, mainly rice, the warok legion from Ponorogo that was part of the attacking forces decided to make pecel—a nut sauce that dates back to the 9th century to be eaten with raw vegetables found on local farms outside the fortified city to avoid starvation. The word 'gadho' in Javanese means to eat a dish without rice. It is also believed to be how this salad got its name.

Unvictorious, the Mataram army retreated, but not before they passed on the recipe for pecel to the locals living around Batavia. Over time, the recipe for pecel managed to get in the hands of Chinese settlers which was later modified to suit the taste of the people living in Batavia who already took a liking to the pecel they had encountered.

The Mardjikers of Kampung Tugu theory

When the Dutch East India Company overtook Malacca from Portugal in 1641, they brought to Batavia Portuguese-speaking slaves from Africa, India, the Malay Peninsula, some with European ancestry, and also some Portuguese prisoners of war. They used them all as labour. Over time, the Dutch granted them freedom, and they became known as The Mardijker, a word taken from the Malay language 'merdeka' that meant free or independent. The Mardjiker settled in the outskirts of Batavia and their settlement was called Kampung Tugu by the Betawi people.

The word Tugu comes from the word Por-Tugu-Ese, that the Betawi people had difficulty pronouncing. The Mardijkers retained their Portuguese culture and would try to replicate the dishes they had. One of these dishes was salad, but being unable to find certain ingredients, they improvised with what they could get their hands on, and thus gado-gado was created. The name gado-gado itself is thought to have come from the Portuguese word 'gado' which meant cattle or live stock and because the salad they created resembled food scraps mixed together that they would feed to animals, the word became synonymous with the new dish.

Cultural impact of gado-gado

For many people, gado-gado represents how diversity can be harmonious when unified. The various ethnicities living in Jakarta is symbolised in gado-gado by the different vegetables, the tofu, and tempeh, the boiled egg which are brought together by the peanut dressing that epitomise mutual respect and tolerance.

When the ingredients are consumed on its own, it might not be something to be excited about, but when mixed together with the peanut dressing emerges something special and unique that just makes sense, or in other words a beautiful chaos—a term some would use to describe the city of Jakarta.

How to make gado-gado

Making authentic gado-gado can be laborious. The process of roasting peanuts, grinding them up with a mortar and pestle to make a puree, is pretty time-consuming, so here's an easier recipe for a quick bite that serves for two.

Ingredients

Peanut dressing

  • 1 cup (250g) peanut butter. The more percentage of peanuts it contains the better it'll taste. Also avoid sweetened peanut butter.
  • 100 grams Thai red curry paste. Opt for a brand that contains shrimp paste as it gives an umami flavour needed for the dressing. If unavailable, shrimp paste can be substituted with fish sauce. (4 tbs)
  • 4 tea spoons (20ml) white vinegar.
  • 14 grams palm sugar or brown sugar.
  • 2 tea spoons (10ml) Indonesian sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) or honey.
  • 1 clove of garlic, grated.
  • 1 1/2 cup (375ml) hot water.
  • 1 tea spoon salt.
  • (Optional) 2 grams bird's eye chilli, crushed and chopped for spice.

Vegetables

  • 2 cup (50g) spinach.
  • 2 cup (50g) water spinach.
  • 1 cup (100g) mung bean sprouts.
  • 1 cup (125g) string beans, cut into 4cm lengths.
  • 1 cucumber, sliced.

Protein

  • 2 boiled eggs.
  • 4 pieces (200gr) tempeh or 4 pieces(200gr) tofu. You can use both, and divide each by two.

Preparation

Prepare the peanut dressing first. Add all of the ingredients for the peanut dressing in a mixing bowl, taste and adjust if necessary, then set aside. Next, blanch the vegetables that need to be cooked, strain them, and then place them on a plate. Slice the tempeh to around half a centimetre in thickness, and fry in a skillet over medium high heat using around 2 table spoons of cooking oil for 2 minutes on each side, or until it turns golden brown and crispy. Fry for one and a half minutes if you're using tofu.

Next, peel the boiled egg, and cut it in half. Place the eggs, tempeh, and/or tofu together with the vegetables. Finally, pour the peanut dressing on top of everything, and give it a good mix. Voilá, your gado-gado is ready to be enjoyed. You can also add unsalted potato crisps to this dish to substitute the garlic crackers which are pretty much essential to the modern day gado-gado. The crisps will give an added crunch for more texture.

Selamat makan (bon appétit)!