Yet another Vegan Eats article by yours truly— always testing out those vegan recipes so you don’t have to! So, I was recently craving some sort of crispy Asian tofu dish and browsed the web for one until I came across the Vegan Beijing Tempeh recipe on rabbitandwolves.com. When I realized I already had almost all the required ingredients at home, I knew I had to try it. At first, I was going to use tempeh like the recipe called for but could only find whole grain tempeh, which I personally don’t like the flavor of. So, yes, I replaced the tempeh with plain old tofu… but it was still just as amazing. Maybe next time I find non-wholegrain tempeh near me I’ll retry this recipe, but at least it’s good to know you can definitely substitute the tempeh for tofu, if you prefer, without any issues. Also, the marinade in this recipe is SO delicious that I may even use it separately for other recipes in the future.
Ingredients:
8 oz. Tempeh (or tofu)
¼ cup Water
2 Tbsp. Coconut sugar or maple syrup (I decided to go with the maple syrup because YUM.)
1 Tbsp. Tomato paste (or even red curry paste! I ended up using that in lieu of the tomato paste, and I honestly think it turned out better than if I would’ve used plain old tomato paste—it gave the dish that extra kick I was looking for.)
1 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. Soy sauce
1 Tsp. Chili sauce—any chili sauce will do, so just choose your favorite!
1 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar
1 cup Bell pepper, chopped (I substituted this with just a bag of frozen mixed veggies, since I’m personally not the biggest fan of bell peppers.)
¼ cup Onion, chopped
4 cloves Garlic, chopped or minced
½ cup Corn starch
3 Tbsp. Light oil (the original recipe recommends using either vegetable oil, peanut oil, or sunflower oil—I ended up using butter because I realized halfway through that I didn’t have any cooking oil! It honestly worked just as well and I couldn’t taste a difference, so if you’re missing this ingredient, don’t worry, just use butter instead.)
Instructions:
Slice the tempeh or tofu into thin strips and place them in a mixing bowl.
In another bowl, add the water, coconut sugar or maple syrup, tomato paste or red curry paste, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, chili sauce, and apple cider vinegar. Whisk until completely combined, and then pour the sauce over the tempeh or tofu. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
After the tempeh or tofu is marinated, remove it from the marinade and save the marinade.
Next, add the corn starch to a bowl and carefully coat the strips of tempeh or tofu, shaking the excess corn starch off.
Heat oil on medium high, then fry the tempeh or tofu strips until golden brown on each side.
Add the peppers or mixed veggies, onions and garlic to the skillet and toss until the veggies are fully cooked to your satisfaction.
Finally, pour the remainder of the marinade over the dish and mix together.
This recipe turned out amazing. What stood out to me the most was, without a doubt, the zesty sweet & spicy marinade. It was so mouth-wateringly delicious, I would definitely recommend trying this recipe out. You can always use the marinade from this recipe to doctor up your other dishes, too. Tag us on Instagram (@hercampuscnu) if you decide to try this recipe for yourself!