I know there are people out there who do not care for tempeh. People who even strongly dislike tempeh. I'd always been on the fence about it. I have always liked it in small pieces and heavily marinated, the end product being hidden inside a wrap or a taco shell. I like when restaurants do something clever with it, like disguise it as a mock tuna salad. Having a big ol' slab of tempeh, however, never really appealed to me. That was, until now.
I'd been anxious to try steaming tempeh ever since I attended the Spork Foods cooking demo a few weeks ago. There I'd learned that steaming tempeh removes bitterness, opens the spores, and allows for more flavor to be absorbed. I tried the sample that they provided and was amazed! I'd never had anything like it. It was so tender and juicy and full of flavor and in no way bitter. This is what tempeh lovers are talking about!
There have been a few tempeh-steaming experiments since then, all of them delicious, but this one is the one I fell head over heels for. You could eat this tempeh by itself and it would be a grand entree, but I chose to put it on top of a fruity kale salad. I was in the mood for a variety of fruit flavors, with savory and earthy notes mixed in. While I was steaming the tempeh, I prepared the sauce. Initially, it was going to be just a mango sauce, but when I went to add a few dashes of pepper, the lid fell off the pepper mill and peppercorns went everywhere. I was able to scrape most of them off the top of the sauce, save roughly a teaspoon or two that had sunk to the bottom. I just pulsed them in the food processor a couple more times and I would have to say, the sauce was better for it. You gotta love Happy Accidents (and I'm not taking about the Vincent D'Onfrio movie), right?
The point of this post, if you have not gathered already, is that I think that it is high time you tried steaming tempeh, if you haven't already. If you've tried it, and you still don't like tempeh, I dare you to try this recipe. In my opinion, it will convert even the biggest tempeh-disliker (I say "disliker" because I just don't care for the word "hate").
MANGO PEPPERCORN GLAZED TEMPEH SALAD with BALSAMIC BLACKBERRY CHIA DRESSING
makes 2 huge salads or 4 small salads
Ingredients:
for the dressing:
- 2 T blackberry chia spread
- 1 T balsamic vinegar
- juice from 1 lemon
for the tempeh:
- ¾ cup mango, diced
- 1/8 cup vegetable broth
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 ½ T Bragg Liquid Aminos (or tamari/soy sauce)
- 1 tsp miso
- several dashes of paprika
- several dashes of powdered ginger
- 1-2 tsp peppercorns (or just a few dashes of pepper)
- 1 8oz package of tempeh
for the salad:
- 1 bunch of kale, stems removed (if desired) and roughly chopped
- juice from 1 lemon
- ½ T olive oil
- 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 apricots, thinly sliced
- ½ an avocado, diced
Instructions:
Prepare your dressing first. If you have not already made the blackberry chiaspread, make that and let it chill for 1 hour. Add 2 tablespoons of the blackberry chia spread to the bowl of your food processor. Add the balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Pulse until smooth. Chill until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, combine the kale,
lemon juice and olive oil. Massage thekale for about 5 minutes (just crush it in your hands over and over again, rubbing in the oil and lemon juice as much as possible). Set aside.
- Remove the tempeh from the package. Slice it horizontally, onadiagonal, so
that you have 10 slices. Fill a large shallow saucepan halfway with water and bring it to a boil. Place a steaming basket into the pot and arrange your tempeh in the basket. Cover with a lid, lower to a simmer, and let the tempeh steam for about 10-15 minutes, flipping once. When it is done, it will have a very nutty aroma.
While the tempeh is steaming, you can make the mango peppercorn glaze. In your food processor, combine the first 9 tempeh ingredients (mango through ginger), and puree until smooth. Add the 
peppercorns and pulseabout 10-15 times, until the peppercorns are broken up, but still have visible flecks. Alternatively, you canjust add pepper to taste.
- Once your tempeh is done steaming, dump the water from the pan, and place the tempeh inthe pan. Over medium heat, add the mango glaze and flip the tempeh until they are all fully coated. Let the tempeh cook with the glaze until the glaze is almost completelyabsorbed/evaporated, flipping as needed. If it is sticking, lower the heat and add a bit of water to deglaze. When it is finished, there will be no more glaze in the pan, and the tempeh will be covered with the thick sauce.
- Assemble your salad. Add the tomatoes, apricots, and avocado to the bowl of kale. Add the dressing and toss to combine. Divide into bowls and then top with slices of the tempeh. Tempeh can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for 1 day prior to serving. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
This recipe is being shared with Wellness Weekends and Healthy Vegan Fridays.
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All Photos taken by Chris Miller
© Kristy Turner and Keepin' It Kind, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material (content and images) without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kristy Turner and Keepin' It Kind with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Courtney Jones
I'm excited to try cooking tempeh this way. I've not had a lot of luck with it myself at home. I've enjoyed it at restaurants, but really could not seem to get it right in my own kitchen. The salad also looks amazing! 🙂
keepinitkind
I hope you like it- let me know how it goes. Steaming it really makes all the difference. Enjoy! 🙂
Caitlin
that looks like one hearty, delicious meal, kristy! i love the idea of marinating the tempeh in mango dressing and having blackberry dressing!
keepinitkind
Thank you! I was in a fruity mood, I guess! 😉
Heather
Wow this looks good! I have never tried steaming tempeh, but you cinvinced me to give it a try!
keepinitkind
Steaming really makes all the difference- I hope you like it! 🙂
Ali Seiter
Um, okay, wow. Be still my beating heart. Mango Peppercorn Glazed Tempeh? I cannot fathom four more beautiful words typed in succession.
keepinitkind
Hahaha! Even in your comments, your writing is so poetic. 🙂 Thank you, Ali!
Richa`
i love tempeh so much more than tofu. if it wasnt for tempeh, i would be eating no soy:) i usually cook the tempeh in spiced broth and then drizzle with or grill it with other dressing and never tasted any bitterness. this mango one sounds super delish( mango can do no wrong) and i have to try steaming method too
keepinitkind
Thank you, Richa! I like tofu for certain things, but tempeh is really taking over in our kitchen! It's wonderful (I never thought I'd hear myself say that!). And I agree with you- mango can do no wrong. I think I need a t-shirt that says that! 😉
michelle
I learned about steaming tempeh from the sexy Vegan lol but never had the nerve...I might have to try it
keepinitkind
If the Sexy Vegan says it's good, you must take his word for it! 🙂
michelle
I made it!!! Well changed the salad ....nectarines for apricots, regular tomato, no avocado since I don't like them, rainbow chard for kale.....
TEMPEH was a success!!!! Yahoo.... 🙂
Thx for the recipe ....
keepinitkind
Yay! I'm so happy it worked out for you! And I would have used nectarines instead of apricots as well, but I did not have any at the time. I'm sure it was great!
Cadry
I really go hot and cold with tempeh. Between tofu and tempeh, when I first went vegetarian tempeh was my favorite. In Vegan with a Vengeance, which was one of my first vegan cookbooks, Isa has a lot of recipes that include tempeh. I was a tempeh-making fiend. Somewhere along the way, my heart switched camps and moved to the land of tofu. Now there's something about the fermented quality of tempeh that turns me off. If it's in a particularly strong sauce, though, I can generally overlook it. This mango peppercorn glazed tempeh may just win me over! The pictures are certainly beautiful, and everything about the glaze sounds super yum!
keepinitkind
The sauce for this tempeh is the best part. The mango and pepper are surprisingly complimentary! I'm totally with you, though- the fermented taste of tempeh is always what turned me off, so I'm glad I found this way of preparing it that removes a lot of that taste. I don't know that I'll ever like it more than tofu- it just has that certain je nais se quoi. 🙂
Gabby @ the veggie nook
Hey Kristy! Just thought I'd let you know I'm featuring this recipe tomorrow on Healthy Vegan Friday! I love everything about it- the tempeh, the dressing and the salad components! I would love to be served a dish of this for dinner 🙂
keepinitkind
Thank you so much, Gabby! 🙂
Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma)
I am a huge fan of tempeh! This recipe sounds fantastic! 🙂 My name is Cindy and I blog over at Vegetarianmamma.com I wanted to invite you to link up your recipe at our Gluten Free Fridays Recipe Link up party! It happens every Friday and we'd love to have you join us with some of your awesome recipes! You can find this week's link up here: http://vegetarianmamma.com/gluten-free-friday-recipe-link-up-1/
Thanks, Cindy
keepinitkind
Hi Cindy! Thank you for introducing me to your site and for the invitation! I can't wait to spend more time exploring it and I will for sure be participating next week! 🙂
Mare
Hah! I was just going to comment that I keep trying to like tempeh and ask for a starting suggestion but I think you gave me one!!
Thank you - keep up the great work 🙂