Vegan Gado Gado

By McDonald, T.  |  Date 16th of July 2020

Gado Gado is colourful, top for flavour, low in calories and high in nutrition. The blend of flavours is superb and it is easy to make.  Green beans, carrots and bell pepper form the main ingredients while the sultanas give it that extra something. In addition, the dish is accompanied with a tasty peanut butter sauce.  With this dish you can't go wrong.  There are many variations of Gado Gado and this is mine. 100% vegan.

Serves 1 (times ingredients by how many people you are cooking for)
Ready in 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 a handful of green beans
• 1/2 a red onion
• 2 gloves of garlic
• 1 heaped tablespoon of sultanas
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 a medium sized chilli pepper
• 1 tablespoon of tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon of tomato relish 
• 1/2 a tsp of garlic granules 
• 1/2 a tsp of soya source 
• 20 g of Quorn pieces
• 1/2 of hot water
• 1/4 (60 ml) cup of basmati rice

Peanut butter source

• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (You can use homemade)
• 1/2 a tsp of soya source
• 1/8 cup (30 ml) of hot water
• 1/8 cup (30 ml) of plant based milk like soya milk
• 1/2 a tsp of garlic granules

Apparatus

• Frying pan or wok if you are cooking for more than one person
• Saucepan for the rice
• Chopping board
• Sharp knife
• Wooden spatula
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cups

Method

Prepare the peanut butter sauce.

Tip, for best results leave in an airtight container overnight in the fridge, take out in the morning and leave to warm to room temperature. This helps the flavours mix together.

1. Put two heaped tablespoons of peanut butter in a bowl or container
2. Add the hot water, soya sauce, garlic granules and vegan milk
3. Mix together with a tablespoon.
4. The constancy of the sauce at this point should resemble the viscosity of cake mix; it should run of the spoon slowly. 

Prepare the veg

1. Slice the onion into chucks and cloves of garlic into thin slices then sauté both in the frying pan with a few sprays of olive oil.  While this is happening, cut the carrot into strips so they look like French fries and cut the ends off the green beans then cut them in half.
2. Rise the rice in some water.
3. Put the sautéed onions and garlic into a clean empty bowl.
4. Sauté the carrots and the green beans in the frying pan with the Quorn pieces. Cook until the Quorn pieces go a golden brown. Meanwhile, add water to the saucepan and bring to the boil as you are sautéing the carrots and green beans.
5. Add the hot water, tomato puree, tomato relish, the chopped red bell pepper, sultanas and soya sauce to the frying pan.  Add more olive oil if needed.
6. Add the garlic granules and more hot water if needed. Don’t swamp the pan in hot water; you just need enough to finish cooking the carrots and green beans. Cook with the lid on until the carrots are tender, which is about 10 mins. Keep an eye the water level during this time.
7. Add the rice to the boiling water in the saucepan and boil the rice until tender. This usually take about 10 mins.
8. Toward the end of the 10 mins, add the chopped chilli pepper and the sauté onion and garlic from earlier and give a good stir. Leave on a low heat.
9. Drain the rice and put in a bowl. I like to use a ladle to make an indent in the rice to make space for the vegetables and Quorn pieces. Now add the contents of the frying pan and add the peanut butter sauce to the top. Serve and eat while still hot. Enjoy! 

Top tip: use olive oil in a spray bottle to easily control the amount of oil used. 

Nutritional value

Portions of fruit and veg according to the NHS Live well (2018):

1 medium carrot = 1 portion

1 heaped tablespoon of sultanas = 1 portion 

1/2 (80g raw) a handful of green beans  = 1 portion

1/2 red onion = 1/2 a portion 

Total = 3.5 portions towards your 5 a day. 

The British Dietetic Association BDA (2017) state on their website that a portion vegetables is 80g or 3 heaped tablespoons of raw, cooked, frozen or tinned vegetables.

I hope you liked this recipe. If you tried it, please leave a comment on how it turned out and what you thought of it. 

Carrots contain vitamin A, minerals, roughage and antioxidants according to Ware, M (2019)

Green beans contain vitamin A and C plus minerals McDermott, A (2017)

References 

The Association of UK Dilatations BDA (2017) Fruit and vegetables – how to get five-a-day: Food Fact Sheet [Online] https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/fruit-and-vegetables-how-to-get-five-a-day.html (Accessed on 16/07/20)

 

NHS Live well (2018) Eat well: '5 A Day Portion sizes' [Online]. Available at https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/5-a-day-portion-sizes/ (Accessed on 16/07/20)

McDermott, A (2017) Healthline: 'Green Beans: Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits
' [Online] Available at https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/green-beans (Accessed on 16/07/20)

Ware, M  (2019) Medical News Today: 'What are the health benefits of carrots?' Available at https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270191#benefits
(Accessed on 16/07/20)