Tiny Tempeh

Uncooked Tempeh

I've had a block of Tempeh in the freezer for about... ooo... 2 months! I bought it and then didn't really know what to do with it, it seemed a little bit alien. So I thought we'd get used to living in the same house, get familiar and then I'd eat it!

I took the block out of the freezer the day before yesterday and moved it into the fridge to get acclimatized to the conditions in the flat - it's only about 2 degrees C above the fridge temperature.

This meant that I had to use it soon... and today was that day. I scoured the net this afternoon, only to find that every recipe I liked included ingredients that I would need to go to the shop for!

This was no good to me - I wasn't about to subject myself to minus 10 degrees (+2) to try to find products that my corner shop didn't stock, so I went with a random concoction, which turned out alright, but I'd definitely tweak.

I discovered that Tempeh - probably because it's fermented - tastes slightly bitter - no wonder all the recipe's slather it in some kind of marinade or sauce! If I used it again (and to be honest, I shall be in no big rush) I would cut the chunks smaller and create a thicker, more plentiful sauce.

It's certainly a filler, I couldn't finish mine and I'm stuffed now!

Soy & Agave Marinated Soy with Green Veg & Noodles

Ingredients

1/2 a block of Tempeh (I used the whole one, waaay too much!)

3 tablespoons of Soy Sauce
1.5 tbsp Agave Nectar
1 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce

1/2 Onion
1 Garlic Clove
2 tsp Grated Fresh Ginger

1/2 a courgette
Handful Mange Tout
2 Asparagus Shoots
Handful of Frozen Peas

Noodles of choice

Method
Cube the Tempeh.

Mix the Soy, Nectar and Sweet Chilli together and pour over the Tempeh (make sure it's in a bowl - otherwise you'll make a mess!)

Next, get a pan of water boiling on the stove, ready for the noodles and blanching the green veg.

Then sweat the garlic & onion in a separate frying pan until translucent. Add the courgettes.

After frying the courgettes for a minute, add the Tempeh and brown.
Meanwhile, throw the asparagus, mange tout & peas to the boiling water. After 2 mins, take out the water and add to the Tempeh.

Then add the noodles to the boiling water.

When the noodles are cooked, you're done! Et Voila!