Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Recipe: Crispy, Juicy Mexican Pork

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Slow cooker pork carnitas is the easiest path to the best tacos of your life: a pork shoulder rubbed with cumin and oregano, slow-cooked in orange and lime juice until it falls apart, then crisped in a hot pan until the edges turn golden and crackly. Juicy inside, crispy outside — that contrast is the whole point. The slow cooker does the hard work. Eight hours on low turns a tough shoulder meltingly tender, and the citrus in the cooking liquid keeps the pork bright instead of heavy. The real magic happens at the end: shred the pork, spread it in a screaming-hot skillet with a splash of its own cooking liquid, and let it sit undisturbed until the edges char. Do not skip that step — crisping is what makes carnitas carnitas. Crispy edges, juicy center — carnitas night done right. Recipe Info Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 8 hours (slow cooker, low) Total time: 8 hours 30 minutes Servings: 8 Calories: ~520 kcal per serving Pork, citrus and spice — carnitas starts h...
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Gado-Gado Recipe: Indonesian Vegetable Salad with Creamy Peanut Sauce

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Indonesia's answer to the salad, gado-gado ("mix-mix") is a vibrant platter of blanched vegetables, boiled eggs, and fried tofu, all generously draped in a rich, sweet-savory peanut sauce. It's filling enough for lunch, light enough for dinner, and endlessly adaptable to whatever's in your crisper drawer. This authentic recipe gives you restaurant-quality gado-gado at home in just 35 minutes — with a peanut sauce you'll want to put on everything.

Bowl of Indonesian gado-gado vegetable salad with peanut sauce

Gado-gado - Indonesia's most colorful salad, drenched in peanut sauce.

Recipe Info

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 35 minutes
  • Servings: 4
  • Calories: ~380 kcal per serving

Ingredients

For the Vegetables

  • 200 g / 7 oz cabbage, cut into wedges
  • 150 g / 5 oz green beans, trimmed
  • 150 g / 5 oz bean sprouts
  • 2 medium potatoes (about 300 g / 10.5 oz), peeled and sliced
  • 1 cucumber, sliced
  • 3 large eggs
  • 200 g / 7 oz firm tofu, cut into cubes
  • 100 g / 3.5 oz tempeh, sliced (optional)
  • 3 tablespoons oil, for frying tofu and tempeh

For the Peanut Sauce

  • 200 g / 7 oz roasted peanuts (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2–4 red chilies (adjust to taste)
  • 50 g / 1.8 oz palm sugar (gula merah), grated
  • 1 teaspoon tamarind paste dissolved in 2 tablespoons warm water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 200 ml / 3/4 cup coconut milk (or water for a lighter sauce)
  • 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)

To Serve

  • Fried shallots
  • Prawn crackers (kerupuk) or emping
  • Lime wedges
  • Lontong (rice cakes) — optional, for a fuller meal
Creamy homemade peanut sauce for gado-gado in a bowl

The peanut sauce is the heart of gado-gado - make it thick and glossy.

Instructions

  1. Blanch the vegetables. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the potatoes until tender (8–10 minutes), then the cabbage (2 minutes), green beans (2–3 minutes), and bean sprouts (30 seconds), lifting each out with a slotted spoon. Refresh in cold water and drain well.
  2. Boil the eggs. Lower the eggs into the same boiling water and cook for 9 minutes for firm yolks. Cool in iced water, peel, and halve.
  3. Fry the tofu and tempeh. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and fry the tofu and tempeh until golden and crisp on all sides, about 6–8 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
  4. Make the peanut sauce. Blend the roasted peanuts, garlic, chilies, palm sugar, tamarind liquid, and salt into a thick paste. Transfer to a saucepan, stir in the coconut milk and kecap manis, and simmer over low heat for 5–7 minutes, stirring often, until glossy and slightly thickened. Thin with a splash of water if needed — the sauce should coat a spoon.
  5. Assemble. Arrange the blanched vegetables, potatoes, cucumber, eggs, tofu, and tempeh on a large platter or in individual bowls. Pour the warm peanut sauce generously over the top.
  6. Finish and serve. Scatter with fried shallots, add prawn crackers and lime wedges, and serve immediately while the sauce is warm.
Prepared vegetables, eggs, tofu and crackers for gado-gado

Everything prepped and ready - assembly takes just minutes.

Tips & Variations

  • Don't overcook the vegetables. They should be tender-crisp and bright — mushy gado-gado is a sad gado-gado.
  • Roast your own peanuts for deeper flavor; store-bought roasted peanuts work fine in a pinch.
  • Make it vegan: skip the eggs and prawn crackers (use emping, which are typically vegan).
  • Spice control: blend the chilies into the sauce for even heat, or serve sambal on the side so everyone seasons to taste.
  • Meal-prep friendly: keep the sauce, vegetables, and toppings in separate containers for up to 3 days; assemble just before eating.
  • Jakarta vs. Surabaya style: Jakarta gado-gado uses a sweeter sauce with cashews sometimes mixed in; Surabaya's leans spicier. Adjust the palm sugar and chili to your taste.

Nutrition Note

Each serving provides roughly 380 calories with plant-based protein from the tofu, tempeh, peanuts, and eggs, plus plenty of fiber from the vegetables. The peanut sauce is calorie-dense — use 3 tablespoons per serving rather than drowning the plate if you're watching calories. It's naturally gluten-free if you skip the kerupuk.

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FAQ

What is gado-gado made of?

Gado-gado is a mix of blanched vegetables (cabbage, bean sprouts, green beans), potatoes, boiled eggs, and fried tofu/tempeh, served with a thick peanut sauce made from ground peanuts, palm sugar, chili, garlic, and tamarind.

Is gado-gado healthy?

Yes — it's packed with vegetables and plant protein. The main calorie driver is the peanut sauce, so portion it sensibly. It's a balanced, satisfying meal on its own.

Can I make the peanut sauce ahead?

Absolutely. It keeps for up to a week refrigerated. Reheat gently with a splash of water or coconut milk to loosen it — it thickens as it cools.

What's the difference between gado-gado and pecel?

Both are Javanese vegetable salads with peanut sauce, but pecel is typically spicier and uses raw or lightly blanched greens like kangkung, while gado-gado is milder, sweeter, and includes eggs, potatoes, and tofu.

Gado-gado recipe — Indonesian mixed vegetable salad with creamy peanut sauce, tofu, eggs and crackers; healthy 35-minute meal.

Made this gado-gado? Show us your platter — and tell us your favorite vegetable combo — in the comments below!


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