Tempted by tempeh

photo by pwisenberg

I made this dish two days ago and I have literally been daydreaming about it ever since. If the picture doesn't do it justice then you'll all just have to trust me on this one. I'll admit I was something of a tempeh virgin (shameful for a vegan, I know) until a couple of weeks ago. One Sunday, Paul and I decided to eat lunch at The Big Carrot and upon realizing that the tempeh dish I'd ordered was insanely yummy, I did what any respectable food blogger would do: I surreptitiously lingered at the counter and typed the ingredient list into my iPhone. Attempting to recreate this meal at home was quite the adventure. I had no recipe to follow and I took a few liberties with the ingredients by adding some snazzy items of my own (sriracha, lime juice and even a splash of gingerale). The tempeh has a nice meaty (although I hate to use that word) texture and it browns beautifully over high heat. Combined with the sweet bell peppers, onions and salty peanuts, it's perfection. But the best part of all is the sauce. Oh man, the sauce! It's sweet, sour and spicy all at once... it reminds me of a hip Asian barbecue sauce. I don't eat greasy Chinese take-out but I'd imagine it would taste like this. Only this is way better. And not greasy.

Sweet and sour tempeh over sautéed veggies
Serves 2-4 (if you're lucky)

1 package tempeh (it's a whole soybean product), cut on the diagonal
2 bell peppers, any colour, chopped
1/2 a large onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup salted peanuts
1/2 lime, cut into wedges
vegetable oil for sautéing

Sauce

3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp tamari (soy sauce would work too)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp sriracha hot sauce
splash gingerale

Preheat oven to 250. Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients and split into two separate bowls. In one bowl, stir in the tempeh so that it's fully coated in the sauce. Do the same with the peppers and onions in the second bowl. Heat the veggie oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Nestle the tempeh wedges in the hot oil and crisp until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from heat and keep warm in the oven until serving. Next sauté the peppers and onions in the same pan, be sure to use a spatula to get every last bit of sauce, until cooked through but still slightly crisp. Serve the tempeh over the veggies and sprinkle with peanuts and fresh cilantro. Give each serving a generous squeeze of lime and you're ready to eat!

This meal is fabulous on its own but would also be great over brown rice. I strongly encourage everyone to take the plunge and lose your tempeh virginity. You'll thank me later.