Tempeh - WTF is it, and how do I use it?

msarro

See title of topic
I was picking up my weekly brick o tofu last night when Sarah noticed strips of tempeh sitting next to it on the shelves. I've heard *about* it, but I don't really know what it is, or how to use it. It looked kinda good (sort of like a veggie burger mixed with millet), but I've never cooked with it before. A few of my vegan friends had mentioned that it was awesome, but never really explained what to do with it.

So, please fellow MFPers, share your tempeh experiences and learn me some

msarro

See title of topic
I was picking up my weekly brick o tofu last night when Sarah noticed strips of tempeh sitting next to it on the shelves. I've heard *about* it, but I don't really know what it is, or how to use it. It looked kinda good (sort of like a veggie burger mixed with millet), but I've never cooked with it before. A few of my vegan friends had mentioned that it was awesome, but never really explained what to do with it.

So, please fellow MFPers, share your tempeh experiences and learn me some

yoginimary

Fermented tofu. It has a tougher texture than tofu, but you can use it the same way. You can use it in stir frys of course, but I've also had it as sandwich "meat" and in a curry. I've only cooked it the stir fry way though.

shorerider

Fermented tofu.

now that just sounds really wrong, and I mean really wrong.

msarro

Fermented tofu.

now that just sounds really wrong, and I mean really wrong.

It sounds icky, but its actually good. The fungi starts digesting the indigestable parts of the soybeans, so your body doesn't have to tangle with them. As a result you get more nutritional value from it.

shorerider

It sounds icky, but its actually good. The fungi starts digesting the indigestable parts of the soybeans, so your body doesn't have to tangle with them. As a result you get more nutritional value from it.

Umm, yeah. :sick:

Phoenix_Rising

Fermented tofu.

now that just sounds really wrong, and I mean really wrong.

It sounds icky, but its actually good. The fungi starts digesting the indigestable parts of the soybeans, so your body doesn't have to tangle with them. As a result you get more nutritional value from it.

:sick: I'll have to erase all this information from my head if I ever intend to try tempeh:sick:

msarro

Fermented tofu.

now that just sounds really wrong, and I mean really wrong.

It sounds icky, but its actually good. The fungi starts digesting the indigestable parts of the soybeans, so your body doesn't have to tangle with them. As a result you get more nutritional value from it.

:sick: I'll have to erase all this information from my head if I ever intend to try tempeh:sick:

Haha, hope you never, ever ask how yogurt, cheese, or sausage are made then

Phoenix_Rising

Haha, hope you never, ever ask how yogurt, cheese, or sausage are made then

Ignorance is bliss when it comes to the making of most foods!!!! :laugh:

GoGetterMom

Been a farmer (years) and those things don't bother me, but the Tempeh thing is grossing me out :sick:

arewethereyet

We never ate yogurt in my house cuz my mom said it had 'worms' in it. :huh:

no cottage cheese because it was curdled milk. :noway:

Ignorance is not always bliss.

I now eat all of that so, maybe, just maybe, I will pick up some TOFU this week.:sick:

Any suggestions on which one to buy? I dont care if it costs more if it tastes better.

msarro

We never ate yogurt in my house cuz my mom said it had 'worms' in it. :huh:

no cottage cheese because it was curdled milk. :noway:

Ignorance is not always bliss.

I now eat all of that so, maybe, just maybe, I will pick up some TOFU this week.:sick:

Any suggestions on which one to buy? I dont care if it costs more if it tastes better.

In my experience tofu pretty much always tastes the same (ie: no taste). It will taste like whatever you cook it with, or how you want it to taste. An exception is if you fry it, in which case its less healthy but it'll have a consistancy of.. umm... kind of like a french fry mixed with a chicken nugget?

Unless you're making a dessert stay away from soft/silken tofu. Use either firm or extra-firm for cooking. I normally buy a brick, take it out of the package, wrap it in plastic wrap and toss it in the freezer til I use it. This makes the water inside crystallize and make little pits inside, which gives some toughness to it (more of a 'meaty' texture).

arewethereyet

We never ate yogurt in my house cuz my mom said it had 'worms' in it. :huh:

no cottage cheese because it was curdled milk. :noway:

Ignorance is not always bliss.

I now eat all of that so, maybe, just maybe, I will pick up some TOFU this week.:sick:

Any suggestions on which one to buy? I dont care if it costs more if it tastes better.

In my experience tofu pretty much always tastes the same (ie: no taste). It will taste like whatever you cook it with, or how you want it to taste. An exception is if you fry it, in which case its less healthy but it'll have a consistancy of.. umm... kind of like a french fry mixed with a chicken nugget?

Unless you're making a dessert stay away from soft/silken tofu. Use either firm or extra-firm for cooking. I normally buy a brick, take it out of the package, wrap it in plastic wrap and toss it in the freezer til I use it. This makes the water inside crystallize and make little pits inside, which gives some toughness to it (more of a 'meaty' texture).

Ok I am going to try it. Do you hear that noise??? It is me ol ma spinning in her grave!!

arewethereyet

I bought...I have a recipe....if I live, I will post it.

Oh the humanity...who ever knew this ol Irish girl would try TOFU!

my dh wants to know what happened to his 1lb hamburger cookin' wife.

Hes having Tofu tonigh ba-by.

cquick

tempeh is a former meat eating-vegans delight...i think it's amazing...

the mouth feel is awesome, and there is no remnants of a fermented taste at all, so don't worry...

it's not as scary as and has a much nicer mouthfeel than tofu, and the type i use is seven grain tempeh that is ready-to-eat (which means you don't have boil it before cooking it). i take some of it and marinate it in diluted bragg's and wasabi powder, then fry it up and serve with veggies...

or i fry it up, put it on some rye bread with some sauerkraut, cheese, and thousand island dressing and make a veggie reuben!

you won't be disappointed, give it a whirl!

msarro

tempeh is a former meat eating-vegans delight...i think it's amazing...

the mouth feel is awesome, and there is no remnants of a fermented taste at all, so don't worry...

it's not as scary as and has a much nicer mouthfeel than tofu, and the type i use is seven grain tempeh that is ready-to-eat (which means you don't have boil it before cooking it). i take some of it and marinate it in diluted bragg's and wasabi powder, then fry it up and serve with veggies...

or i fry it up, put it on some rye bread with some sauerkraut, cheese, and thousand island dressing and make a veggie reuben!

you won't be disappointed, give it a whirl!

Sounds awesome!!!
Last night I ended up putting it in spaghetti sauce. We got garden vegetable tempeh, I put it on the griddle with some olive oil and let it heat for about 20 minutes or so, and then I mixed it in with the tomato sauce. It had an... interesting... flavor. The texture was great, the flavor was kind of like... mushroom+celery+soybean. Not really bad, just different. The flavor was really pronounced and stuck out like a sore thumb in the spaghetti sauce though... hoping its mellowed out some by today.

cquick

i'm so glad that you tried it...

yeah, you really need to crumble it up, if that's really possible, if you want it to be more of the consistency of meat....now you can try out all of the possibilities and make up your own!

if you get it in the 8" by 3/4" blocks (i'm just guessing) like i do, i slice it it half thickness-wise and use it on a sandwich, use it anyway you like, there's tons of possibilities, and lots of different kinds of tempeh, too!

have fun! :smokin: