Gado gado

Method

1. For the peanut sauce: heat 5cm of oil in a wok over a medium heat. Add the peanuts and fry them, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes until golden. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper; leave to cool completely. Fry the whole garlic cloves, shallots and chillies in the remaining oil for 1 minute, then leave them to cool alongside the peanuts.

2. Remove the seeds from the chillies and transfer to a food processor with the garlic, shallots and peanuts and coarsely grind, then add 200 ml of the water and the palm sugar, and blend again until smooth.

3. Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium pan over a moderate heat. Add the finely chopped garlic and shallots and fry them, stirring continuously for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Then add the peanut and chilli paste to the pan, together with the coconut milk, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, bay leaves, tamarind paste and the remaining water. Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer gently until the sauce has slightly thickened. Add the sugar, soy sauce and salt to taste, and the chilli flakes if you like it spicy; set aside.

4. For the vegetables: heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Season the beancurd slices with salt and fry them for 4 minutes on each side. Transfer these to a plate covered with kitchen paper and leave them to cool.

5. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the carrot strips and blanch them for 2 minutes. Take them out of the water with a slotted spoon, and transfer to a large bowl of iced water. Repeat with the bean sprouts, blanching them for 1 minute, and finally with the green beans, blanching them for 4 minutes. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and discard them. Grate the cucumber flesh and set aside. Drain the blanched vegetables.

6. Cut the cooled beancurd into small cubes and arrange on a large serving plate along with the prepared vegetables and cucumber, the boiled potatoes and lettuce. Pour over the peanut sauce and garnish the dish with the hard-boiled eggs, parsley, prawn crackers and deep-fried shallots.