Given the upswing of summer gardening and the rewrites to the upcoming book (not a cookbook yet although the recipes are accumulating for that too!), the posts will likely be sporadic until mid-fall. It also means there isn’t as much time for elaborate (read long) cooking. Typical therefore is this tempeh recipe. It’s a weeknight go-to because it’s fast and has only five ingredients. It’s also totally tasty on top of salad, grains, or all by itself.
What you need:
- an 8 oz block of tempeh, diced into small cubes or sliced open (like a clamshell) and cut into triangles
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons water
What you do:
- In a small dish or cup, mix the balsamic vinegar, tamari, Dijon mustard and water together until smooth.
- Heat a large non-stick fry-pan (cast-iron if possible) over medium heat. When hot, add the oil, wait twenty seconds or so and add the tempeh.
- Stir and fry the tempeh (the pan will dry out, that’s okay, if the seasoning on the cast-iron is good, it shouldn’t stick) until it’s golden on most sides, 5-7 minutes.
- Pour the mixture from the cup over the tempeh to glaze being careful not to get burnt by the steam since it will get boiling and bubbly pretty much instantly.
- Stir to coat all the pieces in the glaze and let the liquid bubble away until pieces appear moist but the pan is dry.
- Serve immediately.
Variation:
- For a more Asian-inspired flavor, replace balsamic with rice or rice wine vinegar, add a dash of wasabi to the mustard and fresh ginger juice if desired;
- For a more “baked beans” kind of feel, replace the balsamic with molasses and/or ketchup and swap the Dijon for regular yellow mustard.
Crunchy Cooking 