Orange Tempeh

Can we be honest for just a minute? I became a vegetarian approximately 4 years ago and I feel like I’ve been missing out on some good chain food…specifically Orange Chicken from Applebee’s. Weird, I know right? Who goes to Applebee’s and gets Orange Chicken? Isn’t that something I should get at a Chinese restaurant. Tonight, my house was a Chinese restaurant.

Tempeh: What is it and what do i do with it?

A few weeks back, I attempted to make orange tofu using the recipe provided by Iowa Girl Eats. Unfortunately, It wasn’t orange enough for me…actually, it just didn’t have as much flavor as I wanted. So today, I decided to give orange-soy products another try. On the menu for dinner:

ORANGE TEMPEH

I made this recipe all by myself (with inspiration from 101 Cookbooks, The Wannabe Chef, and Vegan Values). This is also the first time I’ve ever cooked with tempeh! I think it was a success! I’d like to experiment some more with it. Anyone want to share some great recipes?

Today everything will be According to the Hearty Herbivore.

 

THE RECIPE ACCORDING TO THE HEARTY HERBIVORE

Ingredients

8oz package tempeh
1 Orange (halved)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 generous tablespoons brown sugar
pinch paprika
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup orange juice

Directions

Cut tempeh into 1/4 inch thick triangles.

Squeeze juice from one half of the orange into medium-sized skillet. Gut the orange and add to the juice. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, paprika, garlic, and ginger. Stir.

It's pretty much stir-fried

Heat mixture on medium-high heat, then add tempeh.

Cook tempeh for approximately 5 minutes on each side. Then, keep the tempeh moving as you add in orange juice slowly. Reduce heat to medium until the majority of the liquid has been absorbed/evaporated.

Saute tempeh and left over liquid with desired vegetables (I chose kale).

When finished, squeeze the other half of the orange over the tempeh before serving.

THE REVIEW

Oh my gosh. I am no longer missing out at Applebee’s. For real. This is so much better! AND IT’S VEGAN!

Orange Tempeh>Orange Tofu. You really get that crispy texture with tempeh. I ate it over rice and it was perfect.  I really suggest serving with kale, as well. Kale absorbs liquids really quickly and really soaked up all the flavor of the mixture.

I’ll definitely be making this again. It’s fast, easy, and delicious!

BEST PART OF THE RECIPE

This recipe serves about four people. That means left overs!

I’ll be going home for Thanksgiving on Tuesday afternoon, and I plan on eating these left overs for all my meals between now and then. SO GOOD.

Dig in,

Jamie