Mock Zha Jiang

Simple mock Zha Jiang for noodle, congee or steamed rice! Tempeh and firm tofu is used to give the sauce a different texture as well as for its wonderful nutrients.

Preparation:    10 mins Cooking time:    8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)

°         1 can mock meat in mushroom sauce (brand: cixin vegetarian)

°         125g tempeh, cut into mini cubes

°         75g firm tofu, pat dry and scrambled

°         2½ olive oil

°         5-6 tablespoons water

°         some coriander leaves, sliced chilli and sesame seeds (optional), for garnish

Method

1.    Heat the oil in a wok. Throw in the tempeh and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

2.    Add in scrambled tofu and fry until rather dry.  Pour in mock meat in mushroom sauce and stir-fry for 1 minute.

3.    Garnish with coriander leaves, chilli, sesame seeds and serve.  

Tempeh with Honey

A simple recipe which I don’t know what to write about! Writing is never my strong point and I find it difficult to express. Recently, reading some non-vegetarian cookbooks, they have short and sweet description of their recipes together with beautiful photo – informative, interesting yet entertaining, therefore, it leaves an impact on the reader. Something which I may want to achieve.

Cooking is no longer just to fill the stomach, in this era, it is something more – it is a piece of Art without comprising the taste and quality of food or maybe it is even more than that, I don’t know! So is cooking my passion, in fact, it isn’t. Then, these must be the food that my family or my favorite dishes. Surprisingly, it isn’t too, what I really like could not really be found in here, it is a secret! So, the starting of this blog was never planned and it just grows. Now I treat this as a “Mandala” which is impermanent, therefore this blog can cease or exist depend on the "law of nature".

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)

 2 (100g) fresh tempeh, diced

 1½ tablespoon honey

 Salt to taste (optional)

 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Method

1. Mix the tempeh, honey, salt and sesame seeds a bowl.

2. Place them in the oven toaster and toasted for 10-15 minutes or till golden brown.

3. Serve immediately.

Special Tempeh in Lettuce

This is another simple homestyle recipe by marinating the tempeh with Vegetarian BBQ Sauce and toasted them in the oven toaster. Wrapped the tempeh cube with a small piece of lettuce with carrot shreds (optional), it is a light salad and can easily pick up and eat by hand.


Do you need a dipping sauce for this, maybe yes and maybe no. The Vegetarian BBQ Sauce on the tempeh is tasty enough to go with fresh lettuce. If a dipping sauce is required, salad cream mix with fresh lemon juice and sugar can be used.

Preparation: 8 mins Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
 200g tempeh, cubed
 1½ tablespoons Vegetarian BBQ Sauce
 Some lettuce
 Some carrot shreds (optional)

Method
1. Combine the tempeh and vegetarian BBQ sauce in a bowl and mix well. Let it stands for few hours if possible.
2. Put the marinated tempeh in the oven toaster and toast for 15 minutes.
3. Serve with lettuce and carrot shred.

Silken Tofu with Minced Tempeh and Mushroom

I got the inspiration of this recipe from minced meat over tofu. Using tempeh and mushroom to replicate the minced meat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of water for more sauce and don’t forget to add a tiny bit more vegetarian oyster sauce or soy sauce for that too, if desired. Want a spicy version, add chilli padi or chilli flake!

Preparation: 10 mins Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 1 pack silken tofu (300g), steamed or blanched and drained well
° 100g tempeh, cubed
° 50g fresh shiitake mushroom, cubed
° 1- 1½ olive oil
° 1½ tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce or to taste
° 3 tablespoons water
° some roasted sesame seeds, for garnish
° few coriander leaves (optional), for garnish


Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the ginger and fry till fragrant.
2. Throw in the tempeh and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add in the mushroom and stir-fry for another minute. Mix the vegetarian oyster sauce and water well, pour over the tempeh and mushroom.
3. Place the tofu on a serving plate and top with the tempeh and mushroom.
4. Garnish with coriander leaves, sesame seeds and serve.

Green Apple with Tempeh Salad

Just whip this up this morning … In fact, I wanted to make little cup using wonton skin for the salad, but I am just too lazy! You can add some mango if desired.

Preparation: 8-10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g tempeh, diced and toasted
° 1 green apple, diced

Salad Dressing
° 2 tablespoons vegetarian salad cream/ vegan mayonnaise
° 1 teaspoon sugar
° 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
° ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper or curry powder (optional)

Method
1. Combine all the salad dressing ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
2. Add in the green apple and tempeh and mix well. Serve chilled.

Stir-Fried Tempeh with Gochujang Chilli Paste

Lately, I have been doing quite a lot of recipes related to Korean Cuisine. I am not affected by the Korean wave, its just that I find that some of the Korean dishes can be easily veganized and it is simple to cook. Only by experimenting and veganizing other cusines, that veg*n dishes portfolio will grow …

This recipe is inspired by the Korean dish – Stir-fried Gochujang chilli paste - also known as Yangnyum Gochujang which calls for beef and is used for traditional bibimbap. Instead of using beef, I used gochujang to stir-fry tempeh. Serves with plain cooked rice or cold noodle.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 150g fresh tempeh, cubes or diced
° 100g onion (optional), peeled and diced
° 1½ tablespoon olive oil
° 2 tablespoons gochujang chilli paste
° 60ml water
° ½ -1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
° 1 teaspoon sesame oil
° some toasted sesame seeds or spring onion, for garnish

Method
1. Place the gochujang, water and sugar in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Fry the tempeh and onion until fragrant.
3. Add in gochujang, toss well and stir fry for 1 minute. Sprinkle with sesame oil.
4. Garnish with sesame seeds or spring onion and serve immediately.

Mix and Match Recipes !

Stir-Fried Beansprout with Asparagus and Carrot (garnish with crispy tempeh cubes)

Stir-Fried Lady’s Finger (garnish with crispy tempeh cubes and chopped red chilli)

By mixing and matching 2 recipes together, it creates another variant! You can even chop the tempeh smaller if desired, it would looks like minced meat.

Crispy Tempeh Mini Cubes
Simple Stir-Fried Beansprout
Simple Stir-Fried Okra(Lady's Finger)

Stir-Fried Beijing Cabbage with Tempeh

Wondering what can we cooked with tempeh which has higher content of protein, fiber and vitamins compare to tofu. Here is a quick and simple stir-fried vegetable with tempeh, you can add more tempeh if desired.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 2 pieces (100g) fresh tempeh, deep-fried and sliced
° 125g Beijing cabbage, cut into strips
° 50g carrot, peeled and shredded
° 1 clove garlic or 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° salt and pepper, to taste

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok. Fry the garlic or ginger for half a minute or until fragrant.
2. Add the carrot, cabbage and tempeh. Stir fry over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle some water if it is too dry.
3. Dish up and serve immediately.

Fried Noodle with Tempeh

Fried noodle dish with vegetable and tempeh. Simple, palatable and an ideal meal for lunch box. Garnish with Chinese parsley and chilli, if desired.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 250g hokkien mee, blanched and drained well
° 2 pieces (100g) fresh tempeh, deep-fried and sliced
° 125g round cabbage or Beijing cabbage, cut into strips
° 50g carrot, peeled and shredded
° 1 clove garlic or 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1½ tablespoons olive oil
° salt, to taste
° 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, or to taste

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok. Fry the garlic or ginger for half a minute or until fragrant.
2. Add the carrot, cabbage and tempeh. Stir fry over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Season with salt.
3. Throw in the noodle, add the light soy sauce and toss gently to mix over low heat. Sprinkle some water for easier tossing, if needed.
4. Dish up and serve immediately.

Tempeh Mini Cubes

This deep-fried tempeh with spices salt can be added to pasta, fried rice, congee and salad or eaten as it is.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 6 pieces (300g) fresh tempeh, small diced
° 1 teaspoon spices salt, or to taste
° oil, for deep-frying

Method
1. Mix the tempeh with spices salt evenly.
2. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or wok over high heat or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil brown in few seconds. Drop the tempeh into the hot oil and fry until lightly golden yellow.
3. Remove the tempeh with a slotted spoon. Drain well on kitchen paper and serve.

Tempeh with Oatmeal

Oatmeal stir-fry with chilli and curry leaves is simply delicious. To make this even more nutritious, tempeh is added. The tempeh can be cut into small dices or chopped, is your own preference. For an ultra-healthy dish, just baked or toasted the tempeh instead of pan-fry or deep-fry.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 2 (100g) fresh tempeh, diced and baked/toasted/pan-fried/deep-fried
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° 4-6 sprigs curry leaves, stalk removed
° 2-3 fresh chilli padi or 1 fresh red chilli, seeded and sliced
° 3 tablespoons instant oatmeal
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° ½ tablespoon sugar, or taste
° pepper (optional), to taste

Method
1. Mix the oatmeal, salt, sugar and pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a wok or frying pan over medium heat. Stir fry the curry leaves and chilli for 1 minute. Add in the oatmeal and stir fry until all the ingredients are crispy and aromatic.
3. Add in the tempeh and stir fry briskly. Dish up and serve hot.

Stir-Fried Tempeh with Basil Leaves

Simple, easy and yet nutritious dish. Toast the tempeh if you don’t like pan-fried or deep-fried.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 2 pieces fresh tempeh, diced
° 50g or small handful basil leaves
° ½ red chilli, seeded and sliced
° 1-1½ tablespoons olive oil
° salt or five spices salt to taste

Method
1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok or non-stick pan. Place tempeh in and pan fry until golden yellow. Drain well on kitchen paper if desired and set aside.
2. Pour ½ tablespoon oil in work. Throw in the basil leaves, chilli and stir-fry briskly for a moment.
3. Toss in the tempeh and season to taste with salt or five spices salt.
4. Dish up and serve immediately.

Crispy Tempeh

Fresh Tempeh

Ahh! What is tempeh? Tempeh is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybean particles into a cake form. It contains more protein than tofu and also has more vitamins plus it has a nutty flavour. Here is a quick and tasty snack. Crispy tempeh can be made as substitute for meat in some Chinese dishes.

Preparation: 5 mins, plus 15 mins standing time, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g fresh tempeh, cut into small chunks or 2cm thick slices
° vegetable oil, for deep-frying
° ¼ teaspoon salt
° ¾ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

Method
1. Marinate the tempeh with Chinese five-spice powder and salt for 15 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or wok over high heat or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil brown in few seconds. Drop the tempeh into the hot oil and fry in batches until lightly golden brown.
3. Remove the tempeh with a slotted spoon. Drain well on kitchen paper.
4. Arrange on a serving plate and serve immediately.