The Global Kitchen

Yeah I know I said I'd do a Vietnamese dish but it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

I was craving another tempeh dish and this one came highly recommended. I think this is my official "go to" tempeh recipe. It was really easy to put together and the end result was outstanding. It's also a very healthy vegan meal.

I used regular basil because I didn't have time to go to the Asian market for the Thai basil. I think the two taste so different from one another that I'm going to use the Thai basil when I make this again to give it a more Asian flavor. The regular basil worked but I think it would be perfect with the Thai.



Stir-Fried Tempeh with Spinach and Thai Basil
Cooking Light August 2003


Thai basil has small purple leaves and a stronger taste than sweet basil; if unavaliable, use the latter. The longer you marinate the tempeh, the more flavorful it will be. We liked this dish best with soy tempeh, but any variety (five-grain, three-grain, soy-rice) will work.

Ingredients
Tempeh:
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 pound soy tempeh, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Spinach:
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (10-ounce) package fresh spinach

Remaining ingredients:
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 1/2 cups thinly, vertically sliced red onion (about 3 medium)
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 cups loosely packed fresh Thai basil leaves or coarsely chopped sweet basil
4 1/2 cups hot cooked basmati rice(I used brown basmati)


Preparation
To prepare tempeh, combine first 4 ingredients, stirring with whisk. Add tempeh, turning to coat. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes to 4 hours, turning once. Remove tempeh from marinade; discard marinade.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tempeh; sauté 2 minutes. Remove tempeh from pan.

To prepare spinach, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons sake, salt, and spinach; stir-fry 1 minute or until spinach wilts. Remove spinach from pan with a slotted spoon.

Combine sugar, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, water, and juice; set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; stir-fry 3 minutes or until onions are tender. Add tempeh, sugar mixture, and basil, stirring to combine. Cook 2 minutes or until heated, stirring frequently. Spoon tempeh mixture in the center of a serving platter; arrange spinach around tempeh. Serve with rice.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup tempeh mixture, 1/3 cup spinach, and 3/4 cup rice)