Never-Ending Love Affair with Tempeh

Yesterday was such a strange day. Everything was just off and that rarely happens for me. I have to say I've always been a pretty lucky bunny so when the universe sends me signals to slow down and stay put, I turn off my phone and go to bed! Which is what I did but not before cooking up the one dish of happiness in my unlucky day. And it really turned out quite wonderfully.

My bestie was away recently and asked me to look in on her helper. Her helper makes the most wonderful indonesian dishes and I love her tempeh goreng kicap. She taught me how to make it and so I tried doing it. It wasn't as crispy as hers was because I realised she used a helluva lot of oil. With 2 tablespoons of oil, I think I managed to cook something pretty close. It takes a longer cooking time because I'm almost roasting in lightly in the wok. It took about 15-20 minutes to get the tempeh toasted and "dry".  Not bad for a far healthier version!

RECIPE
2 packets (200gm roughly) tempeh
Half a medium onion sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic chopped
A knob of old ginger, grated finely
Handful of organic raw peanuts, optional
1 tablespoon thick soy sauce (kicap pekat)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 scant teaspoon brown sugar
olive oil for cooking

1. Slice tempeh into small rectangular pieces. The smaller they are, the faster they will toast and dry in the wok. Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a pan/wok and fry the tempeh on high heat for few minutes then turn it down to medium-low and keep an eye on it for 15-20 minutes. Until it turns golden and crisp around the edges. Remove and set aside

2. In the same pan, add a little oil and stir-fry the onions, ginger and garlic. Throw in the raw peanuts at this point (or after the tempeh if you are using roasted peanuts). Keep frying until the onions are caramelised and the peanuts toasted. Add in the cooked tempeh, followed by sauces and sugar. Give it a quick stir to mix all the ingredients together. Taste and adjust seasoning. Fry for a few more minutes until it looks crisp and caramelised.

Its so good with thin slices of big red chillies but I was making it for my kids so no chilli added. Enjoy!