Tremendous Tempeh
An excellent plant-based protein, tempeh has a mild flavor and a great chewy texture. It originates from Indonesia, and they have been enjoying it for centuries. It is made by covering soybeans with boiling water and letting them sit overnight. Then the soybeans are hulled and partially cooked. Once the soybeans have cooled, they are incubated with a starter culture to ferment. This fermenting process is important because the beans are bonded together with the mold mycelium, which provides a natural antibiotic that supports your immune system. Also being a fermented food, tempeh is easier to digest than some other beans. Tempeh by itself has no flavor; it takes on whatever flavor you choose by how you season the dish you are making. Many vegetarians use tempeh as a meat substitute because it can be seasoned and browned similarly to meat.
There are five-thousand-year-old texts that describe soybeans as being one of the most important crops. Our ancestors knew what a great food they had. Soybeans contain many B vitamins, are easily absorbed, provide easily absorbed iron, improve circulation, and support detoxification. They also contain many anticancer properties: Genistein may stop the spread of some forms of cancer at an early stage, Protease Inhibitors may block the action of cancer-causing enzymes, and Phytic acids may inhibit tumor growth. Soybeans contain phytoestrogens or isoflavones. There has been much confusion about this substance in soybeans. Isoflavones help balance your estrogen levels; they do not disrupt them. These isoflavones have also been credited with slowing the progression of osteoporosis, relieving some menopausal side effects, alleviating some cancer-related side effects, and dramatically lowering undesirable LDL cholesterol.
Carrot Sauce over Brown Rice and Tempeh
2 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 (8 oz.) package tempeh
olive oil and tamari
1 onion (half-moons)
2 cups chopped mushrooms
2 cups zucchini (half-moons)
Sauce:
3 cups chopped carrots
1 onion (chopped)
4 garlic cloves
2 cups water
1 T. ume plum paste
1 T. olive oil
1/4 cup cooking water
To make the sauce, put the 3 cups of carrots, chopped onion, garlic cloves, and 2 cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain the vegetables and save the water. Put the drained, cooked vegetables, ume plum paste, olive oil, and 1/4 cup vegetable cooking water into a food processor and puree until smooth.
Cut the tempeh into 12 equal slices. Place in a sauté pan and season with olive oil and tamari. On medium heat, brown each side of the slices. Remove from the pan and cut into cubes. Using the same pan, sauté the onion (cut into half-moons) in olive oil and tamari until tender. Move the onion to the side of the pan, sauté the mushrooms and zucchini in olive oil and tamari in the middle of the pan. Sauté until vegetables are soft. Add the brown rice to the sauté pan, along with 1/4 tsp. sea salt, and tempeh cubes. Pour the carrot sauce over everything and stir all together, serve warm.
Chef Valerie Wilson
