4.12.2012

Tempeh Nuggets

Tempeh Nuggets, sounds incredibly delectable no? 

Well, they were actually surprisingly delicious.  These babies were the result of my craving wings on the way home from learning to break dance tonight (yes... break dance...  It was AWESOME).  Rather then stopping for unhealthy fast food (I'm trying this thing called self-control), I decided I should make seitan nuggets when I got home instead, since I had a lub of seitan in the fridge.  I had my recipe all planned out, only to get home and discover I had tempeh, not seitan in my fridge. (It's all the same to me...)  Since I'm lazy and stubborn, I just went ahead and did the exact same thing I intended to do with my seitan to my tempeh.  Generally speaking, it is recommended to boil or steam your tempeh first, but let's face it, that's another dirty dish--so I didn't.  Even then, these little morsels were crunchy, pleasantly flavored, and an ideal transportation mechanism for barbeque sauce.  Success.



  • 8 ounces tempeh
  • 2 Tbs coconut oil (you can use any oil really)
  • 1/3 cup almond milk (or any milk)
  • 2 Tbs nutritional yeast
  • 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup corn starch
  • 2 Tbs sesame seeds (optional)
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  1. Heat the oven to 350°.
  2. Set up your breading station, in one bowl put the almond milk, and another the nutritional yeast, panko bread crumbs, corn starch, sesame seeds, salt, and pepper.  
  3. Cut your tempeh into 1" cubes, dunk in milk, and then coat in bread crumb mixture.
  4. Heat your oil in a skillet on medium-high heat, add tempeh, and brown all sides.
  5. Transfer to a wire cooling rack atop a cookie sheet, and bake 10-12 minutes.
  6. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice- I loaded them with BBQ :)
Notes:
  • If you don't have nutritional yeast, you can just omit it-- or if you are not looking to make the recipe vegan or dairy free, toss in a few Tbs of grated parmesan or regiano cheese.
  • You can tweak the spices in this recipe and mix it up.  Add 1/2 tsp or so of Chinese five spice powder, and dip in orange or sweet & sour sauce.  Alternatively, toss in some italian seasoning and dip in marinara sauce.  You get the idea- this recipe is very open to interpretation.
  • Tempeh (English pronunciation: /ˈtɛmpeɪ/), is a traditional soy product originally from Indonesia. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form, similar to a very firm vegetarian burger patty. Tempeh's fermentation process and its retention of the whole bean give it a higher content of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins. It has a firm texture and an earthy flavor which becomes more pronounced as the tempeh ages.

    Yields 2-3 servings.





     

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