In the present day’s recipe is a riff one among my favorites from Andrea Nguyen’s most up-to-date guide, Vietnamese Meals Any Day. It is a caramelized tempeh crumble, the form of factor that instantly turns into one of the best element in your rice bowl. In case you’re on the fence about tempeh, that is the place to begin.
What’s Tempeh?
Tempeh is a fermented entire meals, soy-based, and far beloved in conventional Indonesian tradition. To make tempeh, soybeans are soaked, partially cooked, mixed with a starter, after which unfold right into a layer to permit fermentation to happen. Rather a lot goes on at this stage, and you may learn a extra detailed play-by-play about tempeh manufacturing right here. Soybean tempeh is most typical, however different variations are additionally out there. You additionally may see tempeh mixed with different energy elements like flax, or different grains.
Andrea acknowledges that tempeh is not a standard Viet ingredient, however she makes use of it in banh mi, pho, and crumbles like this one to imitate meat, “when crumbled into small items…tempeh absorbs the seasonings nicely and fries up properly.” 
Why Tempeh is such a Energy Meals
Tempeh is broadly thought-about a powerhouse ingredient as a result of it’s wealthy in vary of vitamins. It additionally weighs in properly on fiber, antioxidant, and protein fronts. Add to that the fermentation issue (mainly, the fermentation helps with nutrient absorption, and digestibility) and you’ve got a meals that’s working for you, not in opposition to. Lots of people prefer to substitute tempeh rather than one thing meaty. For instance, this tempeh crumble may take the place of a pork crumble. Here is the place you will discover extra tempeh recipes, and I additionally like this record of tempeh advantages on McKel’s Vitamin Stripped Website. Extra tempeh in 2020!
The Tempeh Crumble recipe
In Andrea’s model she makes use of 1/2 cup of chopped lemongrass. The lemongrass provides superbly aromatic citrus notes, and is one among my favourite flavors. That mentioned, the instances I used to be in a rush to make dinner, I discovered myself skipping out on the 1/2 cup of chopped lemongrass (the lemongrass in my yard is loopy robust) and repeatedly making this shortcut model. It makes use of serrano chiles and additional inexperienced onions – nonetheless actually tasty, simply faster to throw collectively.
Methods to Use the Tempeh Crumble
Right here (above) you see the tempeh crumble as a element in a rice bowl. The essential parts are rice and the tempeh crumble plus what ever is on simple and available within the fridge or pantry. I grabbed peanuts, some backyard lettuces, cucumber, pickled carrots, and avocado. A dollop of guacamole would not be unwelcome. The crumble would even be nice on these Vegan Nachos, in these Garlic Lime Lettuce Wraps, or rather than the tempeh on this Taco Salad.
Extra Tempeh Recipes
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