Intrigued by the recipe for Tempeh and Green Bean Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce I saw in Cooking Light, I made my way to Whole Foods after work last Monday and searched high and low in the meatless-meat section for tempeh. The fact that I didn't really know what I was looking for coupled with its less than central location on a slim shelf underneath the tofu caused my search to last several minutes. Eventually, I located the vacuum sealed packages and added them to my basket with a few more Whole Foods-esque items (hazelnut milk, soy ice cream sandwiches and organic berry jam) and headed to the check out.
At home, I turned to my good friend Wikipedia to find out more about what I would be eating. I learned that tempeh is originally from Indonesia and is made from slightly fermented soy beans pressed into patty form. It is higher in protein, fiber and vitamins than tofu, and is much, much firmer. It actually holds together when sliced and adds some bulk to the meal that tofu does not.
The recipe turned out pretty good, the peanut sauce being essential to giving the whole thing any flavor. When I make it again, I plan on doubling the soy sauce marinade and coating all of the tempeh with it before adding to the skillet.
For dinner, I ate the stir fry over rice, which almost wasn't needed. The next day for lunch I added the leftovers to some rice noodles, which was was delicious.
Tempeh can also be eaten uncooked, so this week I tried adding it to a salad like chicken. I cubed the tempeh and tossed it with a bit of BBQ sauce and layered it on top of a bed of spinach with peas, corn, blue cheese and some avocado. The toppings were quite tasty, but I the dressing I used was a bit too strong and sort of overpowered their flavors.
The tempeh as salad topping experiment was a success overall, and it has me thinking about other ways to use it (especially since I still have about 1/2 a pack left!) Maybe in a sandwich or wrap?
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