Entree

Black Pepper Tempeh Stir Fry

Published on | Updated on

I came home from Nebraska to a couple of bunches of celery in the fridge that needed to be used. I adapted this celery black pepper tofu recipe from Vegan Richaand it was pretty good! Over time I changed added more spices and liquid to the marinade, substituted corn flour in place of arrowroot or cornstarch (tastier!), and added in more veggies. Gets better every iteration!

Black Pepper Tempeh Stir Fry

Ingredients

  • 1.5 C tempeh or firm tofu, cubed in small chunks

Marinade

  • 1 T soy sauce
  • 1 T lemon
  • 3 T water
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp onion pwd
  • 1/4 tsp smoke paprika
  • 2 T corn flour or cornmeal

Saute

  • 1 T canola oil
  • 1 inch ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 hot pepper OR red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • Add a variety of veggies, such as:
  • 8 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 C celery, chopped
  • 1 C carrot, chopped
  • 1 C red pepper, chopped
  • 1 C cabbage, chopped
  • 1/2 C raw or dry roasted cashews (optional)

Stir Fry Sauce

  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 T soy sauce
  • 2 T water
  • 1 T maple syrup
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • Optional: Add a little commercial stir fry sauce at the end, like TJ’s General Tsao

Instructions

If baking tofu/tempeh, preheat oven to 400 degrees. (Alternately, fry the tofu/tempeh, which I’m doing more often now.)

Chop the tempeh or tofu into fairly small pieces (1/4-1/2 inch).

Cook the tofu/tempeh: Stir together the marinade ingredients. Add cubes and mix to coat. Let marinate 10-15 minutes. Then fry the cubes in oil until browned, or bake for 20 minutes in oven (stirring at 10 minutes).

Fry up the veggies: Saute hot pepper, onion, and ginger in oil, 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and veggies. Saute for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the baked tempeh and sauce, and mix. Toss in cashews. Cook another couple of minutes. Serve hot with rice.