Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh

Wow! This was my first tempeh dish and, boy, was it delicious! The tempeh is baked with a soy sauce-ginger marinade and then coated in cornmeal and fried. We enjoyed this with steamed broccoli and sweet potato fries (Alexa brand).

The recipe came from The Candle Cafe Cookbook, a cookbook that I've heard has some problems with measures although both the recipes I've tried so far have been great. It was a tad salty so I might add vinegar to the marinate, and I did change the cornmeal spices, but I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty, meaty-textured, and filling this was. It's a counterintuitive combination of Asian flavors (soy, ginger) and European herbs, but it works.

Hubby noted that the tempeh was "very dense", but he ate the lot and then was eyeing mine. This was probably enough for 3-4 people. I only had medium ground corn meal (the recipe calls for fine ground), but it really came out a treat.

Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans and is an excellent source of manganese, protein, copper, and Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), so this dish is my contribution to this week's Sweetnicks ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday (ARF=Antioxidant Rich Food).

Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh(adapted from The Candle Cafe Cookbook):

1 8oz package of tempeh
1-2 tbsp oil for frying

Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1-1/2 tbsp maple syrup
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

Cornmeal Crust:
1/4 cup cornmeal (med. to fine)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
shake of cumin (Orig. recipe called for 1/2 tsp)
1/2 tsp Herbes de Provence (original recipe called for dried thyme and oregano)


Preheat your oven to 350. Whisk together the marinade ingredients. Cut the tempeh into 1-2 inch rectangles and place in a baking dish. Pour the marinade over the tempeh and turn the tempeh until each side is covered. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the tempeh (so the other side is resting in the marinade) and bake for 15 minutes more. (The original recipe called for 1 hour of baking, but all the marinade had been absorbed in 30 minutes so I removed mine).

Cornmeal crust ingredients and spread out on a plate. When the tempeh has cooled enough to work with, roll each piece in the cornmeal mixture until all sides are covered.

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet until hot but not smoking. Fry the tempeh until crisp and crown, turning frequently (2-4 mins).

Serve immediately.