Lotek, Karedok, Gado-gado: Indonesian Delicious Healthy Salads

Hi everyone, today I would like to share my experience eating delicious and healthy food from Indonesia. Three of the food is very popular, we can find it everywhere in most of Indonesian restaurant, you can also find it easily in hawker street or stalls in most of cities.  

Some people are confused of the difference among Lotek, Karedok and Gado-gado. HONESTLY, so do I, lols~ I can't even know which one is lotek or karedok or gado-gado, they just look the same, vegetables with mixed nut sauce, spices and yellow crackers. I thought they were just the same perhaps it was only different calling from each area in Indonesian. But, I was TOTALLY WRONG. They taste different, they have different ingredients and even different sauce. So what are the difference and which one do you like? Let us see from my summary.

P.s before you read further, sometimes my friends always said that I am pretty picky with food, but I am a good taster, I guess you can trust me today, don't you? *wink *wink. I dislike spicy food and oily food, I like sweet food and crunchy food but that won't change my perspective okay, I will make sure to be objective on these salads.

The Salads Bill

First of all, I bought my Lotek, Karedok and Gado-gado in a nearby restaurant in Bandung City called "Pasar Tong-Tong". Why do I choose it? Because it sold three of the salads and honestly I would like to know the difference among those salads and I believe this restaurant can give me good standard. 

Overall they look the same, with same composition of color and with nut sauce. One with egg, the other without fried tofu and cucumber, but most of it contains vegetables and make you a happy and healthy eating lifestyle.

My short review after eating each of salad

Let us see what you can find on each salad lols~

1. Lotek 

beautiful isn't it? :D

Ingredients: Fried tofu (why the color of tofu is yellowish? Most of tofu in Indonesia is brewed in cumin so the color look more tasty than milky white one), water spinach, cabbage, bean sprout, chayote, long bean and fried shallot.

Vegetables: All vegetable is boiled so it is chew-able. The vegetable is moisture and sweetly well-blended.

Nut sauce: the nut sauce is liquid, light brown color, with sweet soya sauce, little spicy and it blends well with the vegetable, it is aromatic with minced sand ginger, it smells pretty strong. I also can taste little brown sugar here, it tastes balance and amazing. I believe this will suit elderly who has less sense of taste.

If you think it is less crunchy, you can also eat it with yellow crackers, it tastes better. Anyway the banana leaf below the food is not eatable okay, it is only the way of serving in Indonesia. Lols I know this is salad, but it is not food :D      

Ups,sorry I took the sauce, lols

2. Karedok

I know this will be spicy, look at the chili seeds :')

Ingredients: cabbage, cucumber, long bean, bean sprout, nightshade, fried shallot. 

Vegetables: all vegetable is raw, this is a good salad for those who love crispiness of raw vegetables. 

Nut sauce: the nut sauce is thicker than Lotek one, less sweet, but there is still sweet soya sauce and brown sugar. The sauce does not stick to the vegetables. It is aromatic with minced lime leaves, very different than Lotek. It is quite spicy and it chokes me up lols. If you dislike spicy I guess you have to order a non spicy one. I love the crispy raw vegetables, I believe youngsters would love this and also spicy lover,  you should try this one for sure!

There is egg inside the salad, so happy!

3. Gado-gado 

Ingredients: fried tofu, fried potato, bean sprout, long bean, chayote, cucumber, boiled egg and fried shallot.

All vegetables is boiled except cucumber.

The nut sauce is as thick as Karedok, very nutty and sweet, the sauce color is also darker because of more sweet soya sauce and brown sugar. It is not spicy at all, totally delicious. I guess children will love this because it has egg and it tastes sweet. It can make you full for one portion, it suits as a healthy lunch. 

So you have known all the difference, haven't you? Besides different sauce, either thick or liquid and either sweet-spicy or sweet. it also has different vegetables and method of cooking, either raw or boiled. I also can differentiate three of them from the aromas. Karedok smells lime leaves, lotek smells like sand ginger and gado-gado smells brown and sugary. 

What is my favorite? I guess I love Lotek since it blends well with the vegetables, it tastes light but the dressing sauce is deliciously strong. Such a balance combination and I really love it!  

How to enjoy Lotek, Karedok and Gado-gado?? Actually every time we buy this food it is mixed with the nut sauce (but I request to separate it so I can show you what is inside the salads), so mixed the vegetables with nut sauce thoroughly. All salads usually serves with yellow crackers, so after mixing everything, eat a spoonful of this salad with a yellow crackers. 

a spoonful of crackers and salads, yummy!

So have you tried one? Tell me your favorite, enjoy!