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Sautéed teriyaki tempeh

This was an experiment to see if I could use tempeh instead of chicken in my grilled chicken Caesar salad . I haven't tried it in a salad yet, but by itself it's excellent! It's delicious and it has a nice texture. I'll definitely make it this way again.

I started by making a little homemade teriyaki marinade:

soy sauce (shoyu) sake 1 tbsp. sugar 1 clove of garlic, minced ginger, minced

Heat in a small sauce pan until it boils, then remove from the heat. I didn't list some of the quantities because I didn't measure them, and the amount of marinade you'll need varies dramatically if you're not vacuum marinating the tempeh.

Incidentally, teriyaki sauce in a jar is far to thick and probably too sweet, at least for me. You'd need to thin it down somehow, but it's probably easier to just whip up something like this.

I used Light Life three grain organic tempeh with soybeans, millet, brown rice and barley. It comes in an 8 oz. package and the serving size is supposed to be 4.0 oz., 2 per package, but that seemed pretty large.

I cut it into thirds to make a little smaller serving.

Then cut each piece in half, then cut those pieces in half again to make 3 servings of 4 sticks. I hadn't yet made the last two cuts when I took this picture.

Since I have a chamber vacuum sealer, that's the easiest and most efficient way to marinate things, especially tofu and tempeh that really soak up the marinade in a vacuum.

This probably wouldn't work well with an external vacuum sealer, like the FoodSaver, because it would suck the marinade out of the bag. Also, it's generally safe to vacuum seal soy sauce marinade even when it's still hot. Anything water-based will boil if you vacuum seal it hot and will make a huge mess and not vacuum very well.

Vacuum marinated in the refrigerator it only takes an hour or two of marinating. You probably should marinate longer just in a pan or plastic bag.

When ready to cook, heat a sauté pan over medium-low to medium heat. Add a thin layer of oil to cover the bottom of the pan. I used canola oil, but it doesn't really matter.

Remove the marinated tempeh from the bag and pick off any garlic or ginger bits. Add to the pan. Cook until lightly browned. I browned all four sides, using tongs to pick up the sticks and flip them. The tempeh absorbs oil, so you may need to add a little more as you go to prevent sticking. It only takes a minute or two per side.

Tempeh can be frozen so I vacuum sealed two servings and froze them.

This dish is vegan, and therefore also vegetarian and dairy-free and lactose-free.

This particular variety of tempeh is not listed as gluten-free, nor is the soy sauce, so this version of the dish contains wheat gluten. With a different kind of tempeh (Turtle Island brands are) and wheat-free soy sauce you could make a gluten-free version.

I served it with a salad with Annie's Asian sesame dressing and it was excellent! I'll definitely have it that way again.

I also used it in Veggie and tempeh stir-fry with spicy garlic sauce and it was excellent!

It was also excellent in Tempeh and vegetable brown rice bowl .

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