Minced meat-liked braised tempeh cooked with soy and toban sauce. Wrap these spicy and sweet tempeh with fresh and crunchy lettuce, so delicious!
What is Tempeh？
Tempeh comes from Indonesia, in Chinese we called 天貝 or 丹貝. It’s fermented with soybeans and Rhizopus oligosporus bacteria, thus very rich in protein. For example, this one I used has 18.8 grams of protein per 100 grams, more than twice as much as tofu.
The tempeh I bought is frozen and about 400 grams in a pack. It’s milky white in colour, and you can see grains of soybeans on it.
Before eating tempeh, there were many articles on the Internet saying that tempeh has a very unique taste, not everyone likes it. I also imagined it like natto, thinking it would be unpalatable. After the tempeh was thawed, there was no smell. I took a bite of it raw, but it had no taste. Curry Boy said it tastes like very mild cheese.
Tempeh is dried, and there is no water after thawing. It can be easily torn into coarsely minced meat by hand. The texture is a bit like dried tofu.
Some people boil tempeh in water first, some don’t, but I did this time. The reason behind was said to be relieved the bitter taste of tempeh. I found that the taste was not much different. It can only be said that the taste of tempeh was lighter after being boiled. Maybe I didn’t resist the taste of tempeh!
How to Eat Tempeh？
It is said that most of the Indonesians like to slice and then deep-fry tempeh, with only salt as seasoning, very simple. Besides, you can also pan-sear, stir-fry, steam, bake/roast or eat it raw. There are quite a lot of variations. Because tempeh has a light taste, unlike tofu, which has a strong bean flavoUr, I prefer to use it for stewing, that is, if it is paired with sauce, it will be more delicious and easy to serve with rice.
Good with Rice, Asian style Braised Tempeh
The sauce is very simple – soy sauce base with some oyster sauce and sugar, add soaked shiitake water to braise. It’s a Chinese home-cooked taste, it is very good with rice! I learned this braised tempeh recipe from Chez Jorge.
Ingredients
- 180 g frozen tempeh, thawed
- 4 dried shiitake, rehydrated (retain the water)
- ¼ red pepper, diced
- 1 tsp toban chilli bean sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, minced
- 1 round shallot, finely chopped
- salt
- lettuce for wrapping
For the Sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 200 ml soaked shiitake water
How To Make Braised Tempeh with Spicy Soy Sauce
- Torn the tempeh into small pieces. Blanch them in boiling water for 10 minutes, then drain and set aside. It can help removing its unique taste.
- Heat some oil in a pan, add toban sauce and fry until the oil turns to orange colour. Then add the ginger, garlic and shallot, stir-fry until fragrant. Meanwhile, mix all the sauce ingredients together.(except the soaked shiitake water)
- Add the tempeh, shiitake and red pepper to stir-fry for a few minutes. Pour in the mix sauce, and also the shiitake water to cover half of the ingredients (I used around 200 ml), stir well. Cover with a lid and simmer for 12-15 minutes.
- By this time, the sauce should be thickened. Have a taste and adjust. Place the crispy lettuce on a plate, put the braised tempeh on top, wrap it up to enjoy!
