how do you cook tempeh?
Posted by chickpea27 on Sep 09, 2007 · Member since Jul 2007 · 465 posts
i never made it before. and i just bought some to have later this week.
do you just fix it like you would tofu?
i looked at the recipes on here and they are pretty lame?
if you could tell me how you personally like to make it, please let me know. thanks.
The first few times I had tempeh, I tried just baking it, or adding it to soups last minute..and thought it tasted much too bitter. Fast forward to now: Poaching, then baking the tempeh makes it so much better. Poach in a vegetable broth for about 5 minutes on each side, then season and bake at 400 until it's the texture you want - I think I leave it for about 15 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
I love a slab of tempeh on some fresh rye. and saurkraut..vegan reuben-style. :D
baking it.
there we go. sounds good.
Do make sure to poach it first! It really cuts down on the bitter, musty flavor. :)
*runs off to make tempeh "chicken" salad*
my fave way is some way that i found at a HFS and havent recreated, but im going to try again...but it was something like "sesame tamari tempeh"
im thinking it was poached in broth, garlic, bit of tamari until soft. then maybe baked or fried in sesame oil and more tamari.
otherwise, maybe buffalo tempeh, or any marinade. i like them the next day in sandwiches.
i always read about tempeh and it says to poach it, but i don't know what poaching is! I like the taste of uncooked tempeh, but my boyfriend doesn't so I might try 'poaching' it for him if i knew how.
I really like to just let it marinade all day long before baking it. I cut it in very small pieces first, then put it in a dish with buffalo, teriaki, or whatever kind of marinade I feel like. I leave it in the fridgea all day, then bake it at 350 for 20 minutes. Its very easy
i always read about tempeh and it says to poach it, but i don't know what poaching is! I like the taste of uncooked tempeh, but my boyfriend doesn't so I might try 'poaching' it for him if i knew how.
Poaching is just the process of simmering it in some kind of liquid, usually water or broth of your choice.
i always read about tempeh and it says to poach it, but i don't know what poaching is! I like the taste of uncooked tempeh, but my boyfriend doesn't so I might try 'poaching' it for him if i knew how.
Poaching is similar to steaming, only the food is actually in the water, not above it. Get a frying pan big enough to lay the tempeh flat, add water to about half way up the tempeh or slightly more, but not over it. Bring the water to a boil & then lower to a simmer & cook until the water has 'cooked' off. Like someone above stated, you can use veggie broth instead of water, but if it's salted, you might want to adjust any other salt in your recipe.
If you want your tempeh in squares, cut the tempeh prior to poaching, especially if you are cutting it in half, lengthwise, to make it thinner. If you are going to use it as crumbles, you can crumble it prior to poaching.
Here are two recipes from Veg Web that I've tried. The first is Salisbury Tempeh & the second is Sloppy Steves, which I make with tempeh instead of tofu.
Salisbury Tempeh: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=7432.0
Sloppy Steves: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=7672.0
I love tempeh & tofu! Since I have learned to cook with these two ingredients, I have cut back significantly on the amount of meat analogs I eat. Which is good, cuz in spite of how good some of them are, they are expensive & highly processed.
Wow, I didn't know you had to poach tempeh before you cooked it. No wonder I never liked it and stopped using it. Duh is me. ::)
I never poach it and enjoy it fried, though I almost always put some type sauce in it. Look for my tempeh peanutbutter sauce recipe coming soon!
I really like to just let it marinade all day long before baking it. I cut it in very small pieces first, then put it in a dish with buffalo, teriaki, or whatever kind of marinade I feel like. I leave it in the fridgea all day, then bake it at 350 for 20 minutes. Its very easy
i think i'll do this one. thanks!!
I JUST finished cooking with tempeh...my first time and it came out really good!! I made a Kale, Spinach, Quinoa Tempeh dish. Pouched it and them marinated it in some tamari, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, teany bit of brown sugar, and a teany bit of sesame oil...then i baked it....yummmmmmm!! My roomate loved it as well!
Anywho, just wanted to share :)...Good luck Chickpea!!
I used to hate tempeh, but I found that I just wasn't preparing it right. I love making the sausage crumbles out of VWAV. Also, tempeh sloppy joes are pretty awesome. Just make sure you boil/poach/fry for at least 10 minutes before serving it otherwise it will have a skunky, funky flavor :)
I steam it for 10 minutes. Cube it and marinate it for a bit, then stir fry it with veggies and serve over brown rice. I also steam it, slice it, marinate it and broil it or grill it. Serve with rice, or if barbeque sauce used, serve on a whole grain hamburger bun.
This thread is making me want to try tempeh again....I was SO disappointed the first time I ate it because I thought it tasted terrible. The poaching idea sounds good though. I will try it soon and report back!
I've only had one recipe using tempeh that I've actually liked but I'm sure I'm preparing it wrong. It was BBQ tempeh fingers and I think I just mixed strips of tempeh and BBQ sauce and frying it. Yum!
I just bought some tempeh and I haven't cooked with it in months (and even then that was my first time cooking it). I actually unwrapped the package and ate some raw (just wanted to try it... only had a bit). NOW I know how to cook it (after reading this post) but I am wondering if anyone has eaten it raw before? Besides it tasting bad, is it bad for you raw?!