Seasoned Tempeh

Tempeh has been a staple in Indonesian diet for over 2000 years.  After knowing about the benefits of tempeh (fermented whole soy beans) for a year or two, I finally introduced it to my girls.  I heard about it but never tried it until last year my friend cooked it and let us tried it.  She cooked it in sambal so my girls didn't try it but my hubby and I did.  My hubby didn't really like the nutty taste but I thought it was not too bad.

I prefer to slice mine thinly so that it would be well seasoned.  I made this non-spicy version for my girls using half of the tempeh shown below and the other half I made it with my sambal tumis.  My Edda loved this non-spicy tempeh a lot and even requested to keep some for the lunch box the next day.  The tempeh took the flavor of the marinade and actually quite delicious.  I can see this being sandwich in bread and make a good burger.

Picture of tempeh

Don't freak out if you see black spots on your tempeh.  It is still edible, just that it is more ripen and age more than the white one.  I read that the flavor might be more intense as well.  But if you see color other than black and white, discard or refund it.  Another indicator that it is spoiled is that it becomes slimy and smell bad.

Tempeh is marinating in the marinade listed below.

Ingredients:

4 oz tempeh


Marinade:

• 1 Tbsp. hot water
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
• 1/2 Tbsp. pure sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. mined garlic
• 1 Tbsp. minced ginger

Method:

1.  Thinly sliced the tempeh.


2.  Dissolved the brown sugar in hot water and add the rest of the marinade ingredients.  Mix well.


3.  Pour the marinade into the sliced tempeh, mix well and let it marinate for at least an hour.  Drain and reserved the marinade.


4.  Heat up your wok.  When heated, add cooking oil of your choice.  Add tempeh and stir-fry well or until both sides darken.  Add the reserved marinade, mix and coat well and let the sauce thicken.  Serve on a plate.