Protein Experiment: Tempeh

Tempeh, or tempe in Indonesian, is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. (...) Like tofu, tempeh is made from soybeans, but tempeh is a whole soybean product with different nutritional characteristics and textural qualities. Tempeh's fermentation process and its retention of the whole bean give it a higher content of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamin. It has a firm texture and strong flavor. Because of its nutritional value, tempeh is used worldwide in vegetarian cuisine; some consider it to be a meat analogue.
(from Wikipedia)

Tonight was not my first experiment with tempeh. A month or two ago I made a shepherd's pie with tempeh from a recipe in the Veganomicon which was DELICIOUS, but since it was not my own recipe I didn't share it here. Today, however, I got brave and decided to make something up with tempeh, and the menfolk was in the mood for burritos, so that was the direction I took it. This did require bravery, because even though the package will tell you that tempeh is totally delicious plain (they say you can sprinkle it in salad!) this is completely untrue. I tried some straight out of the package, and it is AWFUL eaten plain. With the right seasoning, though, it has an excellent nutty flavor. The particular variety I purchased was a 3-grain tempeh, so it had other things in it besides soy (wheat, and something else, not sure what).

I know all of you are smart enough to know how to make a silly burrito, so I'm not going to bother with listing the tortillas and nonsense like that. Instead, I'll just share how I cooked the tempeh filling.

Tempeh Burrito Filling

1 8oz pkg of tempeh
1 tbsp olive oil
4-6 baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 cup frozen corn
1 cup vegetable broth
onion powder
chipotle chile powder
salt

Sautee the onion, garlic, and mushrooms in the olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add the tempeh and cook another 5 minutes or so. Add tomato and vegetable broth. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 'til about 3/4 of the broth has reduced out. Add corn and seasonings, and continue cooking until remainder of broth has evaporated and all ingredients are heated through.

Living With Carnivores

In my case, it's just one carnivore, but I like to appease him sometimes with tasty dinners. As much as I'd like to just make piles of vegetables all the time, I do often make split meals, half with meat, and half without. The best way to do that without making yourself crazy is to make carbon-copies of your dish, just change out your proteins. Tonight, for example, I made sesame garlic tofu/steak with peas. All I did was get two pans, cook up the oil and garlic at the same time in each, and just tossed tofu in one and steak in the other. Voila. I know, not very exciting, but it works, and that's what's really important. I find often that I end up doing twice as many dishes because I live with a carnivore, but unfortunately I don't have a brilliant solution for that problem yet.

Just for fun (though I'm sure you're all smart enough to figure this out on your own) here's the recipe for tonight's dinner:

Sesame Garlic tofu/steak with peas.
(yields about 3-4 servings of tofu, 1 serving of steak)
-1 lb tofu
-1 serving steak (~6 oz? I'm not sure...)
-1 1/2 cups frozen green peas
-3 tbsp sesame oil
-3 tbsp minced garlic
-3 tsp sesame seeds
-salt, to taste
-soy sauce (optional)

Heat 2 tbsp oil in one large pan, 1 in small pan. Apply garlic in the same fashion. Sautee garlic for about 5 minutes, then add tofu to the large pan. When tofu is just beginning to get a nice brown color to it, add steak to small pan and salt each. Continue to cook each about 3 minutes, then add peas. Continue to cook on medium heat until heated through. Serve over brown rice with sesame seeds as garnish. Season with soy sauce if preferred.