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. View image in fullscreen 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. Food Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for corn gado gado A great way to pack in your vegetables, while adding pops of colour to your rotation of meals
Georgina Hayden Mon 5 Oct 2026 14.00 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google 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.
For those who have a peanut allergy, this dressing works well with good-quality almond butter, too.
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.