Sweet and Sour Tempeh

Sunday, September 27, 2015 - Lunch
Sweet and sour tempeh (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

I decided to give tempeh a second chance - I didn't really like it in the form of fried tempeh bacon. I'm glad that I made this recipe, because it was delicious!  Tempeh is a cultured soy protein, made up of whole soy beans fermented together into a caked block / patty.  This recipe called for steamed tempeh to be mixed into the veggies and sauce.  The steaming process, as well as the moisture from the sauce, made the tempeh soft and tender, while still holding together in cubes - I liked it much better this way.

I've never used fresh ginger in a recipe before. I thought it would be too much work, so I have typically substituted ground ginger.  However, since this was an Asian dish, it seemed like a good time to try fresh ginger.  I was pleasantly surprised that it was easy to peel and mince.  (I found a great tip on the internet for peeling ginger: use the side of spoon to scrape the skin off the root.  It worked like a charm.)  Then, my whole kitchen was filled with the refreshing scent of ginger.  The flavor was noticeable in the finished dish as well.  In the future, I will not hesitate to use fresh ginger root.

This sweet and sour sauce is better than any store-bought sauce I've ever had.  The base of the sauce was apricot preserves ("Sweet") with miso paste, tamari, and cider vinegar ("Sour") - it was fantastic.  The one substitution I made was using corn starch as a thickener instead of arrowroot powder, because I couldn't find the arrowroot in my local grocery stores.  The sauce was thick, sweet, and a little sticky (perhaps from the jam?), and it tasted amazing.  I would definitely make this recipe again.