Peanut Tempeh Bowl

How to cook tempeh

Simmering the tempeh in water or vegetable broth will help remove some of the bitterness.  My favorite method is using vegetable broth to add more flavor.  I normally use homemade salt-free vegetable broth.  If you’re not, be cautious of the sodium content and how it may impact the seasoning of the dish. If you’re adding a very flavorful sauce to the tempeh (like in the recipe below), then just use water.

Simmering the tempeh does not completely get rid of the bitterness. For more tempeh recipes, try the mustard tempeh Buddha bowl with roasted sweet potatoes and avocado.

Step 1 Simmer

Place the tempeh block in a saucepan or skillet, cover with water or vegetable broth, and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.  The tempeh will swell and puff up.

Step 2 Dice or slice

Remove, let cool, then slice, dice (like our recipe below) into desired pieces, or crumble.

Step 3 Add flavor

Tempeh tends to be bland and bitter, with a slightly nutty flavor.  In this recipe, we’re adding spicy peanut sauce. For other recipes, you can choose to marinate, cook in a flavorful liquid, or add desired dry seasonings.

Step 4 Cook

In the recipe below, we're coating the tempeh in peanut sauce just until it’s warmed through and the sauce has thickened.  For other recipes, it can be baked, sautéed, added to sauces, or used in burgers for a meaty texture.

Recipe tips

• If you don’t use fresh ginger often, it can be peeled and then frozen for later.  It’s actually a lot easier to grate while frozen.
• To not waste the stem of the broccoli, I dice it into small bite-size pieces and roast them along with the florets.  Make sure they're much smaller than the florets because they take longer to cook. The end of the stalk can be fibrous, so trim off about an inch from the bottom, peel the outer layer, and then dice.
• A Microplane works great for grating ginger.
• This sauce can be made ahead of time, it may thicken while chilling in the fridge so thin it back out with more water to be able to coat the tempeh in the pan.
• The recipe works well for meal prep, store the kale separately.
• Add more kick with more crushed red pepper or sriracha.

Substitutions

• Fresh ginger is much better, but in a pinch, a ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger can be substituted.
• The lime juice can be substituted with rice vinegar, which may produce a stronger flavor.
• Tofu can be substituted for the tempeh, check out my instructions for oven-baked crispy tofu. To substitute follow the tofu instructions all the way through, once baked add to a pan with the sauce, tossing to coat and flavor the tofu. Once the sauce has thickened add it to your grain bowl.

Recipe Instructions

Start the brown rice, and cook according to the package instructions. Then preheat the oven to 425 F (220 C).

Roast the broccoli florets for 20 minutes (no need to line the baking tray) or until they have softened and the tips start to brown. Place the tempeh in a small skillet or pot and just cover with water, simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Once done, remove the tempeh, let it cool slightly, then cube it into bite-size pieces.  Discard the cooking liquid, reserving the pan for later use.

While waiting, make your sauce.  Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together (except the water), then whisk in the ½ cup of water to thin it out.  Or add all of the ingredients (including the water) to a blender and blend until smooth.

About 10 minutes before everything else is done, preheat the pan and return the tempeh with the watered-down peanut sauce.  

On low to medium-low heat toss the tempeh in the sauce to warm up, thicken, and flavor the tempeh, cook for roughly 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The residual sauce will also work as your sauce for your bowl and the rest of the components.  Cook the sauce down to your desired thickness or thin it back out with more water.

Plate by adding rice, roasted broccoli, and a handful of kale to a bowl, then top with the peanut tempeh and sauce.

Related recipes

• Chickpea vegetable rice bowl
• Sweet potato nourish bowl with smoky tahini dressing
• Vegan deconstructed sushi bowl
• Vegan taco bowl
• Burrito bowl
• Butternut squash Buddha bowl

More tempeh or tofu recipes

• Mustard Tempeh Buddha Bowl
• Crispy Oil-Free Tofu
• Marinated Tofu (Oil-Free)
• Tofu Buddha Bowl