Tempeh is one of those ingredients I’d never heard of before turning vegan. It’s also one I’ve struggled to get Kenny to be happy with, I suspect because he finds it just too strange. However, it’s a great source of protein as well as being good for the gut. I started making my own a few months ago, it’s typically made from soy beans but I make mine from black beans and seeds. The mix ensures it’s still a protein source but it’s free from soy which works well for me.
Tempeh can be used in a lot of places where you’d typically use meat, or treated like tofu. I typically marinade it before cooking as it’s a great flavour sponge. Now I’m not going to pretend that this tempeh recipe produces something just like bacon – it won’t. But just like my vegan scramble, it will produce a dish that’s reminiscent of the original while still being able to stand up by itself.
An incredibly easy recipe, you can put the tempeh in to marinade before going to bed the night before, or just while you shuffle around the kitchen first thing in the morning – as little as 10 minutes in the marinade can be enough. Use it where ever you’d want to use bacon, eat it with your waffles, in a vegan BLT (as per my picture), or as a part of a might vegan brunch. Yesterday I paired some with sauted chard to give extra depth – it’s great!
Try it and let me know what you think!
- Makes: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 250g Tempeh
- 60ml Soy Sauce Substitute (See Allergy note below)
- 1 Tbsp Liquid smoke
- 1 Tbsp Oil (a light oil like rapeseed works best here)
- 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 Tsp Paprika
- 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Chilli Flakes
Directions
Remember to leave enough time to marinade your tempeh!
Place all ingrediants except the tofu into a wide dish and mix well. Slice your tofu into slices no more than 0.5 cm thick. Lay the slices into the marinade and allow to soak for as long as you can, remembering to flip the tempeh halfway through. 10 minutes is enough if you’re pressed for time, an hour is better.
Fry over a medium heat for 3 minutes on each side, or until it darkens and crisps slightly.
Serve as you would bacon, it makes a great vegan BLT.
Notes
If you want to use this in the same way you would bacon bits then cook really well before hand and crumble into your dish of choice. It livens up sauteed greens and can boost the flavour of your next risotto.
Allergy Notes; you may be a little tired of this note by now but those of you that don’t know, I’m going to keep saying this – Soy Sauce is NOT gluten free as the brewing process contains wheat. A good gluten free option is Tamari which normally (not always! check your brand) contains no gluten, is slightly less salty, and thicker than soy sauce. We use coconut aminos in our house, while not quite as rich as soy sauce, it’s both gluten free and soy free but different brands vary tremendously – you may have to look around before finding one that suits you.
Most store bought tempeh is made from soy, if you’re looking to reduce your soy intake then you can make your own from almost any beans, just remember to throw in 1/4 cup of seeds to every cup of beans to make sure it’s a complete protein source. Thomas at Full of Plants has several great recipe on homemade tempeh including this one which I use loads!
