Description
A flavour packed vegan balinese tempeh recipe. Sweet and spicy, so aromatic, and the perfect addition to rice, noodles, or power bowls!
Ingredients
- 225 g tempeh
- 2 tbsp fried basa bali* (see notes for alternatives)
- 30 g shallot (one large)
- 2–3 garlic cloves
- 1–2 long red chillies, deseeded*
- 1 kaffir lime leaf, torn in half* (see notes for alternatives)
- 1 salam leaf (fresh bay leaf torn in half)*
- 1 tbsp kecap manis (sub soy sauce or tamari)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/8 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp palm sugar (sub coconut sugar or sweetener of choice)
- 1 tbsp water (or more as needed to slightly thin the sauce)
*Ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
- Steam the block of tempeh for 15 minutes to remove any bitter flavour. (To steam the tempeh: use a pot with a steaming basket. Add two inches of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Place your block of tempeh in the steamer basket and steam for 15 minutes). You can gently boil or fry the tempeh if you are not able to steam it but I prefer the flavour when steamed.
- When the tempeh is cool enough to handle, slice it into 1-2 inch pieces.
- Use a mortar and pestle to grind the fried basa bali, shallot, garlic and chillies into a paste. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle you can use a small chopper or just mince the ingredients and mix them together).
- Add a dash of oil, water, or vegetable broth to a skillet and heat over medium low. Add the spice paste and the torn lime & bay leaves to the warm pan and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add the soy sauce, tomato paste, white pepper, sweetener, and water. Stir and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Carefully add the tempeh to the pan and coat in the sauce. Cook for 3 minutes or until warmed through. Taste and add a touch more kecap manis or soy sauce if you want a bit more saltiness to come through.
- Serve warm as part of a balinese inspired platter with my tofu pepes, urab, and perkedel recipes. Alternatively, add to fried rice, noodle dishes, or power bowls. Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
Approximate Cost: $5.92 without the basa bali (under $7 with the basa bali paste).
If you do not have the ingredients to make my basa bali recipe you could omit it all together and still make tasty tempeh. If you have any of the following ingredients you can add 1-2 teaspoons of each: fresh grated ginger, fresh grated turmeric (sub with ¼ – ½ tsp ground), minced lemongrass, chopped candlenuts or macadamia nuts. These additions will get you closer to the flavour imparted by the basa bali.
Likewise, if you do not have a kaffir lime leaf you can omit it or splash the tempeh with a touch of lime juice for a hint of that aroma and touch of flavour. If you do not have a salam or fresh bay leaf you can use a dried bay leaf and remove it before serving.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Various
- Cuisine: Indonesian