Monday 17 October 2011

CC Tamarind Tempeh with Noodles

While on holiday a few months ago, I sat on the floor of a bookstore in Orange and swooned over Alice Hart's Vegetarian.  It had gorgeous photos, quirky illustrations, and some interesting pieces of advice on making the basics.  Recently, I dived into the Fast section and made Tamarind tempeh with sesame noodles and shredded greens.

There are lots of dishes I would love to make out of this book, especially the Summer Minestrone.  I chose to try the tamarind tempeh because I have a jar of tamarind in the back of the fridge that is sorely neglected and I don't eat tempeh as much as I would like.  Plus the Cookbook Challenge theme for the fortnight was Asian. Win win win!

We had this on the evening after Geelong won the AFL Grand Final.  The dish is colourful enough to be a celebration dish.  Yet I chose it for another reason.  We had been eating pastry and cookies all day so I was craving vegetables.  You can use any vegetables here.  Quick cooking is best.  I have recently fallen in love with choy sum so that was a must. 

This is an amazing dish.  It is quite tart due to the tamarind.  But oh so good.  E even told me how much he loved the marinated tempeh!  If you are tempeh-shy I suggest this is a great way to try it.  To see what my Cookbook Challenge colleagues got up to go here.

Other delicious tempeh recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Gado Gado with Marmalade
Orange glazed tempeh
Tempeh and corn soup

Tamarind tempeh with veg and noodles
Adapted from Alice Hart's Vegetarian
Serves 4

225g packet of tempeh
2 tbsp tamarind paste
2 tbsp honey (I used maple syrup)
4 cm ginger, finely grated
2 tbsp soy sauce
450g hokkien noodles (ready to use packet)
2 tbsp oil (I used canola)
zest and juice of 1 orange
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1 capsicum, chopped
kernels of 1 cob of corn
2 mushrooms, chopped
1 bunch of asparagus, chopped
1 bunch of choy sum
few drops of sesame oil
2 spring onions, sliced

Cut tempeh into bite size pieces.  Mix tamarind paste, honey (maple syrup), half the ginger and 1 tbsp soy sauce.  Mix with tempeh and marinate 10-30 minutes.  (Chop the vegies while it marinates.)

Pour boiling water over the noodles to loosen them up (mine come in a clump in the packet).

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frypan or wok until hot.  Tip marinated tempeh and any marinade into frypan.  Fry on a medium to high heat for about 5 minutes.  Turn tempeh over and fry another 5 minutes on the other side.  (The marinade is so black it is hard to see if it is burning but it tastes great if quite crispy.)  Remove tempeh from pan and set aside (in marinade container is fine).

Heat the rest of the oil (1 tbsp) and fry remaining half of ginger, garlic and chilli for 1-2 minutes over a low heat.  Add vegies and stir over a high heat for about 1 minute.  Add orange juice, 1 tbsp soy sauce, sesame oil and tempeh and turn up the heat.  Cook for a few minutes until veg is softened.  Stir through noodles until coated with sauce and warmed through.

Serve with spring onions scattered over the top (or stirred through at the end).

On the stereo:
Million Sellers: Peter Sellers

This post is part of Vegan Month of Food October 2011.  Go to my Vegan MoFo list for more Vegan MoFo posts.

18 comments:

  1. This looks like a terific and very tasty dish. I have never tried tempeh before.

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  2. I've just bought that cookbook too! Have made a bunch of stuff already, the braised eggplant stifry is lovely.

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  3. This looks great, will have to give it a go!

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  4. Hey Johanna, I have never cooked with or tried tempeh before, but boy I am craving this dish. My stomach is rumbling in response :)

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  5. I think this could be the perfect recipe to introduce me to tempeh (I haven't tried it before either!). I am also very, very glad that I'm not the only one to sit on bookshop floors :P

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  6. It's always good to find something new to do with tempeh, we have our standards but I love tamarind and pairing it with noodles ticks all of the boxes for me!

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  7. I've never even tasted tempeh before let alone cooked with it!! I'm feeling well behind the eight ball now lol.

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  8. I've sat and swooned at this cookbook in a bookshop too.

    I like tamarind, but don't think I've paired it with tempeh. So I'll keep this recipe in mind.

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  9. Apart from the fact that I thought the mushrooms were marshmallows at first glance, this looks amazing! I looooove tangy tamaring!

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  10. Mr NQN dislikes tempeh but I bet this could do a good job turning him! :)

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  11. Thanks Cakelaw - definitely an interesting dish where the tempeh flavour is not so prominent because the other flavours are so strong - probably a good think if you are trying tempeh for the first time

    Thanks Jackie - will need to check out the braised eggplant - lots of dishes I need to try actually

    Thanks K - hope you enjoy it

    Thanks Jacqueline - this dish will satisfy a raving hunger and it is a great way to try tempeh

    Thanks Kari - it is a good way to try tempeh - it can be overwhelming but is great with a glaze - and nice to know I have some company on bookshop floors :-)

    Thanks Adam and Theresa - would love to know your tempeh standards (I know you do a mean tempeh bacon if your photos are anything to go by but I can never get it to work)

    Thanks Chele - plenty of time to catch up (but I know, just so many things to try!)

    Thanks Lisa - exactly why I chose it

    Thanks Shaheen - the cookbook is so gorgeous to flick through - I do try and exercise self control in bookstores but this one just got through all my defences

    Thanks Lorraine - the glaze is just so tasty he will never know he is eating tempeh

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  12. Thanks Hannah - I know you would have preferred marshmallows to orange in this stirfry - I did consider trying it with lemon juice but thought it would be too tangy for me! I suspect your love of tang is greater than mine!

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  13. Well I was inspired by this to make a tamarind + tempeh stirfry, I followed the marinade instructions but that was about it :)

    https://secure.flickr.com/photos/pfctdayelise/6257153180/

    I should definitely have followed the part about frying the tempeh separately - I just tossed mine in the stirfry with everything else and of course it never really browned up.

    'Tis quite tangy though - 2 tbsp is quite a bit of tamarind - not sure how to counter that. Maybe just sugar. I tried adding some sweet chili, maybe I didn't add enough.

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  14. thanks pfctdayelise - I think frying the tempeh separately is important because the marinade crisps up on the tempeh and is like a nugget of intense tanginess rather than the whole stirfry tasting of it - I think the orange is important to give that bit of sweetness but I had similar thoughts about needing more sweetness - I haven't used tamarind much but 2 tbsp seemed a lot to me too - but it worked in the way I used it

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  15. I'm not tempeh shy and quite sure I'd love this! I've never bought tamarind but love the flavor--must get to those Indian shops and purchase some so I can try this out.

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  16. This looks like such a good noodle dish! I really want to like tempeh.. I need to try it again.

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  17. I've actually not tried Tempeh before but like the sound of this tangy dish. Thanks

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