 This dish was inspired by a recipe in the incomparable “Plenty” by Yotam Ottolenghi. His version is just tofu and included copious amounts of butter and deep-frying. I decided to make it less labor intensive and a bit healthier by baking instead of frying and using a food processor to reduce the time mincing.
0 Comments
 Tempeh doesn’t get a whole lot of love outside of Indonesia. This is such a shame because it is such a versatile, protein packed ingredient. A block of tempeh consists of soybeans that have been fermented with a fungus called rhizopus oligosporus. As the fungus grows its mycelium knits the beans together into a cake. This results in a higher protein and fiber content as well as an earthy flavor.
The most important part of this recipe is sourcing the tempeh. Use a low quality block and your dish will suffer. The most readily available brand I like is Tofurky’s Indonesian Style Tempeh. It has converted many a tempeh hater to reason.  I used to think that bean salads were a joke. I hail from the Midwest and was accustomed to three bean salads with vinegar, vegetable oil and chopped celery. Maybe some black pepper for zest. The beans were canned, of course. I think this dish is the reason I don’t care for kidney beans or celery to this day.
I wrote bean salads off and that was wrong. Done properly a good bean salad can be an affordable and deeply satiating and nourishing dish. I like using garbanzo beans for salads because they hold their shape and can stand up to additional ingredients. 
This dish was inspired by a recipe in the incomparable Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. His version is just tofu and included copious amounts of butter and deep-frying. I decided to make it less labor intensive and a bit healthier by baking instead of frying and using a food processor to reduce the time mincing.
I love this recipe and make variations of it often. This recipe is a little more basic and I encourage you to apply your creativity here. Throw in some herbs, add the cheese you thought you used but totally forgot about. By using the mung beans and rice together you are getting a complete protein, which is a super bonus.
You also can not go wrong with a sauce. Often I use a drizzle of salted yogurt and call it a day but these also pair well with Asian flavors. Consider a mix of tamari, rice vinegar and sesame oil. |
RSS Feed