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Lazy Cat Kitchen

A food blog with plant-based recipes from all over the world

Fried tempeh bowls

May 15, 2019 by Ania - 9

Asian-inspired, buddha bowl, easy, gluten-free, healthy

fried tempeh bowls lunch

Hey guys, hope your week is peachy?! We’ve been blessed with beautifully sunny weather here in Bristol (it’s May so about time, eh?) this week and I found it extremely hard to get any work done as a result. This is when being one’s own boss gets hard sometimes. On one hand, you can simply say ‘I deserve some down time’ and sit in the garden smelling flowers all day, but if you continue doing that too often, you’ll find yourself with no business to speak of. Self-discipline is key and while I am normally okay with that, when the sun is shining so beautifully after so long, my self-discipline goes out of the window (literally). If not for the fact that I lost the ropes needed to hang up my hammock, I would be now swinging happily in it.

So after 2 full days of procrastination, I’ve finally had to buckle down and shoot some photos for you, so here goes. Today’s dish is inspired by a traditional Indonesian method of preparing tempeh known as ‘tempeh goreng’. Although it literally means fried tempeh, it is so much more than that. First, bite size pieces of tempeh get fried until golden and then get coated in a ludicrously delicious savoury caramel-like glaze, which makes the whole thing insanely addictive. Make sure you prepare your tempeh just before serving the dish or else I can guarantee that you’ll lose half of it to snacking… Or maybe it is just me and my extremely poor impulse control…

Speaking of which, I’ve decided that I need a little help in this department so I’ve installed a new app on my phone, which helps me track the amount of grazing I tend to do on a daily basis. I’ve only been logging all my food for a few days now, but it has already illuminated to me how much unnecessary food ends up in my stomach over the course of each day, just because I’m bored, frustrated or I don’t want something to go to waste. Now that I can see everything in black and white, I instantly feel a little bit more accountable. The thing is, I don’t go hungry or even deny myself a small treat daily, yet I find that I am simply making more considered choices when it comes to what I need to eat for sustenance or a little pleasure and what I tend to eat just because it’s within reach. It’s been very educational and I’m hoping to develop some new, better habits in the long run.

PS: If you make my fried tempeh bowls, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram as @lazycatkitchen and use #lazycatkitchen hashtag. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!

fried tempeh bowls tempeh prep

fried tempeh bowls tempeh fried glazed

fried tempeh bowls tempeh fried close up

fried tempeh bowls

fried tempeh bowls macro

5.00 from 3 votes
Print
  • serves: 2
  • prep: 15 min
  • cooking: 15 min

Ingredients

TEMPEH

  • 200 g / 7 oz tempeh
  • 2-3 tbsp high smoke oil* (I like rice bran oil)
  • salt
  • 2 small shallots, very finely diced
  • 1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
  • 1 stalk of lemongrass, minced well (optional, add more ginger if unavailable)
  • 1½ tsp finely grated ginger
  • 1-2 tsp sambal oelek, adjust to taste (or Sriracha)
  • 4 tsp coconut sugar (or any other sugar)
  • 3 tbsp lime juice

REMAINING INGREDIENTS

  • 195 g / 1 cup rice, cooked
  • 200 g / 7 oz broccoli, stir-fried or steamed
  • favourite pickles (optional)
  • fresh coriander, for serving
  • green part of spring onion / scallion, sliced thinly

Method

  1. Tear tempeh into small-medium chunks with your hands. You could also cube it, but I prefer the organic shape and it’s easier to make too.
  2. Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in a small pan. Once the oil is hot, add tempeh chunks and allow it to fry (without stirring) until browned on one side. Once golden-brown on one side, give it a stir and allow to brown on the other side. Lift out of the oil with a fork or a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with a paper towel. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and set aside.
  3. Use leftover oil (or add another tablespoon of oil if needed to the same pan) to fry diced shallot for about 2-3 minutes on low heat – until translucent.
  4. Add garlic, lemongrass, and ginger. Sauté on a very low heat, stirring frequently.
  5. Next, add in sambal oelek, coconut sugar and lime juice. Allow the sauce to bubble a little on a low heat. Season with salt.
  6. Place fried tempeh in the sauce and stir well to coat.
  7. Serve with rice, broccoli and pickles. Garnish with fresh coriander and the green part of the spring onion.

Notes

*If you are not keen on frying, dry the tempeh pieces out in an 180° C / 355° F oven for about 20 minutes before glazing.

If you want more info on some of the ingredients that we use in our recipes, check out our glossary.
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This recipe has been written by Ania. She is the cook, stylist and photographer behind Lazy Cat Kitchen. You can read about her journey into food blogging here. You can also check her out on Pinterest and Instagram.

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    Comments

    Leave a comment

  1. alexander says

    May 16, 2019 at 6:23 am

    so bloody delicious omggggg, ty for this!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      May 16, 2019 at 12:16 pm

      I’m sooo pleased to hear that, Alexander! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, much appreciated. Ania

      Reply
  2. Di-Di | The Foxy Flexitarian says

    May 17, 2019 at 3:28 pm

    Thank you, Ania. I’m a big fan of Indonesian cooking and sambal oelek is a firm favorite. This recipe is so good it deserves a new set of hammock ropes. Go spoil yourself girl, you’ve earned it.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      May 17, 2019 at 4:46 pm

      Thanks 🙂 Glad you like it! The thing is I am pretty sure they are somewhere in the house, but not sure which of many boxes (we recently moved). I hope to find them eventually…Ania

      Reply
  3. Jo says

    May 19, 2019 at 7:09 pm

    Hi! This looks so delicious! I have a question – would this still work if I steam or simmer the tempeh first to get rid of the sour taste? I’m really not a fan of it. Or will this mean it won’t crisp up properly? Thanks x

    Reply
    • Ania says

      May 19, 2019 at 7:11 pm

      Hi Jo,

      It should work fine just make sure that you allow it cool off completely before frying. Hope that helps! Ania

      Reply
  4. Jo says

    May 23, 2019 at 10:10 am

    Thanks!!

    Reply
  5. Malaika D Stasiak says

    August 29, 2019 at 11:06 pm

    I make this almost every week. It’s AMAZING!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      August 30, 2019 at 12:15 am

      Thanks, that’s lovely to hear! Ania

      Reply

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Ania Marcinowska
Hi, I'm Ania. I love good food but I love animals more! Adopting a plant-based diet has been the best decision I've made and that's how this blog was born. It's a space where I want to show you that creating delicious plant-based food isn't actually hard at all.
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