Tofu with Cha Om

Before the end of last year, my friend and I visited Bangkok Chinatown for a day. We didn’t really have anything planned, it just so happened that I wanted to be there as I’ve listed the area under my “Places to Visit in Bangkok 2018”. Come lunchtime, we went looking for this popular vegetarian place called Jae Lee. The place had a single long table covered with linoleum and is equipped with enough chairs for 25 people sitting really close together, but no matter, the food is really good that the seating arrangement will not matter at all. There was on dish in particular that I really liked, Tofu with Cha Om.

Cha Om

Now, I don’t really know what type of sauce they used and I highly doubt its fish sauce as suggested by online recipes. So I used whatever I had in my pantry, a mushroom sauce and a light soy sauce.

Prepare the cha om carefully first. Give it a good wash, It has thorns so you have to gingerly cut the tops off with your fingers. Set aside. Cut a block of firm tofu in half, lengthwise, Place the tofu in between a clean and dry kitchen towel, gently press out excess liquid. Cut the tofu into cubes and deep fry in soybean oil. Fry a few cubes at a time and just leave it for a few seconds.The tofu usually sticks together while frying so you need to give it time otherwise it will break apart if you pry it.

Using the same pan but with just about 2 tbsp oil, fry minced garlic until light brown and then add the cha om, toss it for about 30 seconds then add 1 to 2 tbsp each of the soy and mushroom sauce, a tbsp brown sugar and about 2 tbsp water to dilute it. Just so I’m clear, I was just winging this sauce thing as I mentioned above that I didn’t really know the sauces they used in the restaurant. So it will be very much according to your taste. To continue, add in the deep fried tofu, toss for about a minute or two so the tofu could absorb the sauce. Serve with freshly steamed jasmine rice. I also sprinkled toasted sesame seeds just because.