Sweet & Sour Tempeh with Vegetables

Another fabulous recipe from The Real Food Daily Cookbook, this Sweet and Sour Tempeh was a huge success!

The tempeh is marinated with tamari, oil, and lots of garlic and ginger, then grilled under the broiler. The vegetables — onions, carrots, peppers, cabbage, and corn — are sauted in sesame oil and then the everything is brought together with the sweet and sour sauce. I love that the marinade becomes the basis for the sweet and sour sauce. I wouldn't have thought to use corn, but is worked beautifully. I served this with white rice, which I combined with chopped cilantro and peanuts per the recipe's recommendation - sensational.

As this recipe is chock full of healthy veggies and high-protein tempeh, this is my contribution to this week's Sweetnicks ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday (ARF=Antioxidant Rich Food).

Sweet & Sour Tempeh with Vegetables (adapted from The Real Food Daily Cookbook):

Marinade:
1/2 cup tamari
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece fresh ginger, minced

8 oz tempeh (I used Wildwood)

Sweet & Sour Sauce:
leftover marinade
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brown rice vinegar
1/8 cup arrowroot

1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp crushed red peppers
2 onions, chopped into 1/2" pieces
2 carrots, peeled, sliced longwise, and cut on the diagonal
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 cup cabbage, chopped
2 ears fresh corn kernels


Slice the tempeh horizontally (so its half its original thickness) and then cut each piece in half diagonally (you should end up with 4 triangles). Mix together the marinade ingredients and marinade the tempeh for 1 hour at room temperature.

Turn on the broiler and broil the tempeh on each side for about 5 minutes. Take the left-over marinade and whisk together with the maple syrup, brown rice vinegar, and arrowroot. When the tempeh is cooled, cut it into 1" triangles.

In a large skillet, heat the sesame oil and crushed red peppers over med.-high heat. Add the onions and saute for 2 minutes. Add the carrots and sauted another 4 minutes. Add the pepper and sauted 2 minutes. Add the cabbage and corn and saute 2 minutes. Pour in the sauce and cook for 1 minute. Add the tempeh and cook 3-4 minutes, until thick and bubbling.

Serve with rice.