Quick Tempeh Stir-Fry

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 pack of tempeh
tamari
coconut oil (or suitable veg oil)
toasted sesame oil
small knob of ginger
1 clove garlic
1 small broccoli, stem included
1 carrot
1-2 pak choi (or bok choi)
fresh coriander
sesame seeds, dry toasted in a pan

Summary

A quick, bright stir fry is a wonderful thing. In the interest of simple, weeknight inspiration, let me share with you this couldn’t-be-simpler amateur stir-fry. As usual, use what you have and fancy it up if you need to. Perhaps add fresh chilli, sambal or a little kecap manis from the huge bottle you may very well have at the back of the fridge. That’ll add a hit of sweetness and some Indonesian companionship as well.

A note on tempeh: Primasoy Tempeh is the real deal, made here in Mulgrave much like it is in Indonesia, using traditional fermentation techniques and Australian grown organic soy beans. It packs a high protein punch, gets the microbiome tick of approval and on it’s own has a great mushroomy, nutty flavour. Tempeh is also really adaptable, taking on other flavours in a tofu-like way. I tend to fry it like this with garlic, ginger, tamari and sesame, so the tempeh and fresh veggies aren’t drowned out with a big stir-fry sauce. But the Primasoy team have several great recipes on their website that are well worth checking out. There’s basic fried or battered tempeh, classic rendang and satay skewers, and a tempeh curry that sounds delicious.

 

Quick Tempeh Stir-Fry

First, I sliced the pack of tempeh into strips, and sliced each strip in half to make a thinner piece. They were marinated in a little tamari and water, probably a tablespoon of both, while I chopped up the other things. You don’t really need to marinade the tempeh, especially if it’s already flavoured, but I like doing this for a quick stir-fry and had a pack of plain tempeh at hand.

I heated a cast iron pan (you could use a wok) with a good tablespoon of coconut oil, added a drizzle of toasted sesame oil as well, and fried the strips of tempeh until a little brown on both sides. Once done, they wait until the end.

In the same pan, which still had some tamari/sesame flavoured oil in it, I quickly fried the vegetables, cooking the thicker ones first and adding the chopped ginger and garlic after a minute or two so as not to burn them. Note – broccoli stems are delicious! Use them all! Also note – consider adding more coconut oil or a splash of water if it’s a bit dry.

The long juicy stalks of the pak choi are great too – I added them with the leaves right at the end so they stayed crunchy. I sliced up the tempeh strips (cut yours however you like) and mixed them back in to heat up. Served on steamed rice, with fresh coriander and toasted sesame seeds.