We've had good tempeh and we've had mediocre tempeh. At its best, the soybean cake is rich and nutty. At its worst, tempeh can be bitter or bland. We grew up eating tempeh and enjoy its earthiness, but for some, it's an acquired taste. Here are five ways to prepare tempeh and enhance its potential for excellent texture and flavor.
Five Ways to Prepare Tempeh
1. Steamed. If you find tempeh to be too bitter straight out of the package, steaming it can help. Place sliced tempeh in a saucepan and cover with water or vegetable broth. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Then remove the tempeh and proceed with marinating, grilling, baking, or otherwise seasoning and cooking it.
2. Marinated. Tempeh can be rather bland on its own, but it takes well to marinade. Good tempeh marinade ingredients include soy sauce, vinegar, citrus juice, coconut milk, peanut butter, ginger, spices, or sweeteners like maple syrup, agave nectar or honey. Even a quick coat of soy sauce and a few other seasonings significantly heightens the flavor.
Here's what we do on busy weeknights: Cut an 8 ounce block of tempeh into 1/4 inch-thick slices. Marinate for 10-20 minutes in a mixture of Bragg's liquid aminos (1/4 cup), rice wine vinegar (1 tablespoon), sesame oil (1/2 teaspoon), and minced garlic (1-2 cloves). Pan-fry over medium heat until golden brown and crispy.
Marinated tempeh may also be grilled or baked.
3. Thinly sliced. Grilling or pan-frying tempeh until the edges turn crispy enhances its natural nutty flavor. Of course, different recipes call for various slice sizes and techniques, but in general we like to slice tempeh about 1/4 inch thick. At this thickness, it can acquire just the right amount of crispiness on the edges while retaining a nice, chewy interior.
4. Blackened. Tempeh coated and seared with with blackening spice makes a tasty addition to salads and vegetable bowls. Use a prepared Cajun-style seasoning or make your own with equal parts paprika, cayenne, black pepper, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried thyme, and salt. Brush tempeh patties with oil, coat them with the spice mixture, and sear in a hot frying pan. Let the spices smoke for 5-10 seconds to blacken.
5. Crumbled into sauces and stews. Like tofu, tempeh takes on the flavor of whatever it's cooked in, making it a versatile way to add heartiness and protein to a meal. Add crumbled, grated, or cubed tempeh to spaghetti sauce, stew, chili, or curry.
Do you have anything to add to the list?
(Image: Flickr member FotoosVanRobin licensed under Creative Commons)
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Thank you! I love tempeh, but I've never been quite sure how to cook with it.
view charise's profile
Thanks! This is great!
view EmmaC's profile
I love your blog, makes me really hungry and offers splendid ideas for everyday meals just as for special ocasions.
If you want to drop by, we have just created or own blog in which we hope to offer some information regarding recipes and ingredients.
Hope to see you there.
Kind regards and keep blogging.
view EricReichert's profile
here, we slice it up about 1/2 inch thick, fry it up in some oil and then put homemade BBQ sauce on it. serve it with some steamed greens (kale is nice) and mashed potatoes. mmmmm!
view gleek's profile
The Millennium Cookbook has a great recipe for marinated tempeh. I think they use red wine, tamari (wheat-free soy sauce), garlic, maple syrup, chili flakes and a handful of other spices (rosemary might be one of them). Slice the tempeh into strips and marinate several hours or overnight, then bake it in the marinade, covered.
I used to make this for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas, and I'd usually turn the marinade - which is sort of a red wine reduction by the time the tempeh is baked - into a gravy with the addition of a little arrowroot powder right before serving.
view sunspot42's profile
I am going to go with a beer marinade next. A pub near me does a great beer marinaded tempeh reuben sammich that I would love to duplicate.
view kmarie's profile
I cook tempeh often and I really like it as a vegetarian alternative to beans in tacos and other Mexican dishes. I also like it hamburger-style on a soft, whole wheat bun with either barbecue sauce or a delicious aioli. If you're interested, I recently put together a recipe for tempeh enchiladas.
view rkosick's profile
Love love love tempeh. I like to slice it thin and grill it with onions and portobello mushrooms. Really captures a nice flavor.
view Goosebucket's profile
a great way to use tempeh is in lodeh - a Malaysian vegetable stew http://lekkertje.blogspot.com/2008/09/lodeh-oh-yeah.html. It is a vegetarian dish. I didn't use tempeh in this one. But it is very easily added to the tofu sticks, mung beans and vegetables. Tempeh is usually used in it.
The other way to use it is to slice it thinly or in matchsticks and fry it until crisp. And then made into sambal tempeh with some dried whitebaits or dried shrimps, onions, garlic and ginger. It can be stored for months too.
view mangolisa's profile
we slice tempeh about a quarter inch thick, pan fry it with some veri veri teriyaki sauce then pile it in a whole wheat wrap with some sauteed red onions and peppers... sooo good!
view sdnyc's profile