Tempeh - barbecue style

Dear foodies,

Remember the post when I told you I had bought a slab of tempeh and sent it into long-term storage ? Ya, that was still there until a few weeks back. I was then having a tough patch with my cooking, nothing I made came out the way it was supposed to and I had a tough time swallowing the food I made. I filled most my days with soup from Panera bread and simple bread sandwiches (luckily the bread came out well) that did not lead to any complications. The other step I took was to follow a recipe to the T and not use my brain, it worked most times and this was one of them.

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon and I was feeling hungry with nothing at home. I had borrowed another Moosewood's book after the previous success and so started flipping thru thier sandwich section to see if anything interested me and if I had everything needed to make it. The first recipe I saw was for a tempeh sandwich and it sounded really good. This was my first time tasting and cooking tempeh and I am glad it worked out well. A first attempt failure usually puts me off things for a long long time. The ingredients list is the same as that in the book, but the quantities are not.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 pack of thawed Tempeh, cubed ( ~15, 1" cubes)
• 1/2 nos - red bell pepper, sliced
I used a couple of cherry peppers
• 1/4 cup - Onions, sliced
• a clove of garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp - Oil
  
• 1/2 tsp - coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp - fennel seeds/saunf powder
  
• 1-2 tsp - Tabasco sauce, adjust to taste
  

• 1 Tbsp - Tamari/soy sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp - Tomato ketchup
• 1 Tbsp - brown sugar/molasses
• 1/4 cup -water

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and saute the onions and garlic for a few minutes. Next add the peppers and cook for a few more minutes until they soften.
2. Add the cubed tempeh and saute on medium heat until it browns around the edges (add more oil if needed). Meanwhile, mix together the sauce ingredients (last 4 listed separately) and adjust the quantities to suit your taste. Ground the coriander & fennel seeds if you don't have them in the powdered form.
   
3. Sprinkle the spice powders over the tempeh and stir to coat well, pour the sauce in next and simmer for 5-7 mins until the sauce thickens. Add the tabasco sauce and check for seasonings.
4. Serve with crisp lettuce as a stuffing in pita pockets or on bread as a sandwich.

This was quick to make and super tasty I tell you. I did not have any form of lettuce but did not miss it that much since the tempeh was delicious with the crusty, toasted bread. I absolutely loved the sauce too, I usually don't like barbeque flavored snacks due to the smokiness I think, but this one was just right for me. The tempeh did not taste as funky as it looked :D It had a soft texture which you could may be equate to a dense and chunky paneer piece ?! This was a whole grain tempeh, and was spotted with flax seeds here n there. It could be because of the sauce but I did not get any strong flavors from the tempeh itself.

I liked the sandwich so much that I immediately used up the rest of the package of tempeh and made a slightly thinner sauce a.k.a munchurian style using cubed onions and green peppers and this time made delicious hors d'œuvre's on toothpicks, lip-smackingly good, especially when you are enjoying a book and can conveniently pop a few of these into your mouth as you flip through the pages. Do try this recipe when you get a chance.