Fun with double-barrelled names.

Why is gado gado gado gado? I don't know. But I think I just invented a way to run four identical words together in a sentence and still mean something.

I suppose the same question could be asked of Woy Woy, Wagga Wagga, Grong Grong, Mitta Mitta and Lang Lang, which is both a renowned concert pianist and a small dusty town halfway between Melbourne and Phillip Island complete, according to its website, with 'Church's' and 'Bank's'.

As usual, I digress. But it was fun! Digressing is even more enjoyable than procrastinating.

I had some gado gado at a Thai cafe, Aloi something or other, in Hardware Lane recently. Yes, I know gado gado is Indonesian but they had it on the menu with a Thai twist. It was good but it took forever. If you're in a hurry, go to Don Don.

Anyway, I thought I'd try it at home. It's dead easy if you have the ingredients.

Peanut sauce for gado gado

You will need:
Half a cup of crunchy peanut butter (I only had smooth)
Two small hot chilies, finely chopped (more if you like it hot)
Two tablespoons of tamari or soy
One tablespoon of fish sauce
Two minced spring onions (which are called eschallots in Sydney, shallots - incorrectly - in other parts of Australia, gibbons in Wales, cibies in Scotland, green onions in the United States, escallions in parts of the Caribbean and scallions everywhere else. But we're right and they're all wrong. They're spring onions.)
Two teaspoons minced ginger (how do you mince ginger without it going all stringy? Just wondering)
One teaspoon minced lemongrass
One teaspoon of finely chopped coriander root
One minced garlic clove
Two teaspoons of sugar
The juice of half a lime (keep the other half on hand).

Now, just toss it all in a pot and cook it, stirring, on low. Adjust consistency with extra lime juice. It should not be too liquid but not too dry either - think molten lava. I did - I used four chilis.

Pour the sauce into a dish and set the dish on a large platter. Around the dish, arrange the following: segments of tomato, red onion rings, boiled quartered potatoes (I used Red Rascals), blanched snow peas, blanched broccoli florets, slices of red capsicum, halved button mushrooms, a thatch of bean shoots and some parboiled carrot sticks. It's whatever you fancy, basically. Genuine gado gado calls for halved boiled eggs and sometimes tofu. Garnish with sprigs of coriander.

Now I know gado gado is vegetarian, but I've already made it Thai instead of Indonesian, so I may as well add protein to it and completely destroy the whole original concept. I had a beautiful piece of rock ling, as fat as a rich man's wallet; and I poached this, very, very gently, so it almost didn't notice, but just got fatter, in a delicious liquor comprising a dash of fish sauce, a squirt of tamari, a splash of pomegranate juice, a little peanut oil and some chopped lemongrass and coriander root. When the fish was at its fattest, about five minutes' gentle poaching, I gently segmented the fish into one inch cubes and let them stand in the covered pan for a few more minutes, to cook through.

Then I tumbled the fish pieces along with all the juices into a bowl and set it beside the vegetable platter.

That was dinner.