When Gong Bao arrived in Thailand, it eventually evolved into Thai cashew or pad med mamuang. Med mamuang means nut in the shape of a mango. So cute, right? When you compare the Thai pad med mamuang to gong bao, you will find the sauce is slightly changed. The order of adding the ingredients is also different from the Chinese dish. But, the gist still remains—a savoury, spicy dish with soft protein contrasted with a crunchy bite.
In this vegan Thai cashew tofu, we will pan-fry the tofu first to get it golden on all sides. You can also use cauliflower or mock meat instead of tofu. If you do, coat it with flour and cornstarch and deep-fry first, to create a layer of “skin” that would absorb the sauce.
This is a popular dish in Thai restaurants, especially for people who are just getting into Thai cuisine. The flavour is very accessible, and it can be as spicy (or not) as you prefer, simply by adjusting the amount of chillies.
If you don’t have sweet soy sauce / kecap manis, you can just try to make your own. Another way to do it is that if the recipe asks for 0.5 tbsp of sweet soy sauce, you can just use 0.5 tbsp of sugar and 0.5 tbsp of soy sauce instead.
Ingredients
- Sauce