Hello friends of the Hive realm! I haven't posted for a while but I'm still kicking. There always seems to be something that comes up, like complete exhaustion, due to work and early rising neighbours.
Valentine's day, at the restaurant where I work, turned into Valentine month. We have been busy like summer in tourist season. I guess it's a good thing for the business and employees.
I now would like to share dinner with you.
I'm using tempeh, in place of a typical southern fish or meat dish, rubbed in cajun spice and usually pan seared.
Tempeh (fermented soybean) is popular in Indonesia and has become more and more popular here as more people turn to a plant based diet. Tempeh can be mild but it can put some people off if it is not properly done. Sometimes it turns out kind of funky but the good thing is that it takes on flavours very well. The texture for people that have never tried it, may be something that needs time to understand. I have heard people say they love it right away.
For this dish, I'm using my favourite tempeh from a company that I use to work for, where I was making it from scratch, then also cooked it, turning into a flavoured item for packaging and distribution. I had been involved in every process of this product. Not fun!
In case you are someone not familiar with tempeh, I will give you a brief description of how it was made at the company that I was working at.
Dry soybeans were boiled until they were cooked through but not mushy. They were removed from the water, cooled, drained, and tumbled in a machine that removed most of the moisture. It was added to another tumbler with spores, and mixed in the machine thoroughly for a certain amount of time, I don't remember. Perhaps ten minutes or so. They were removed from the machine then added to a weigh machine where we would weigh them automatically and have them fall into a plastic bag with tiny holes in them. We would seal the bags with a sealer, then tamp them down flat. they would go on a trolley and wheeled into a large room to incubate at a set temperature. The next day after around 30 hours of fermenting, they would be gathered and packed.
I know that many people toss their tempeh into a pan full of oil to fry. That would be tasty I'm sure. I am treating this with less oil and poaching it in broth first.
First I cut the square tempeh into halves then carefully fillet each half into thinner pieces. This will be like a fish fillet substitute. I want to get a southern U.S.A, Louisiana type vibe.
Have I ever mentioned that I once had a New Orleans tour on a river boat. It was boring, and the food was not what you would think, was traditional Louisiana style at all. No offence American friends, it's not your fault
For the broth, I added a veggie stock cube to some homemade broth that I had in the fridge. You can use water and salt and it will be fine.
Cajun spiced tempeh
720 g tempeh (3 packages)
1 1/2 litre vegetable broth or 1 1/2 litre water plus broth powder
1/2 cup cajun spice or to your liking
1 tablespoon agave or other sweetener
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Oil for searing (I used around 3 tablespoons)
I put all of the pieces in a pot and covered with the broth. It was approximately a litre and a half.
This poaching process, makes the tempeh swell up, firm up, and give it a flavour base to start, but not necessary . I personally like it to pop with flavour before adding the spices.
After bringing to a boil, simmer for around thirty minutes or until you can see that it has firmed and swelled. Take it from the broth. I like the flavour it leaves in the broth. I saved the broth to use in a soup.
A cajun spice mix can be purchased already made. Making your own gives you control on the flavours that you like and the heat level. I like it quite fiery and peppery. If you don't, you can just use paprika, omitting the chili.
Cajun spice mix
2 tablespoons chili powder or cayenne
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon thyme
Salt to your liking ( I like it salty)
To coat the tempeh with the spices, I randomly decided to brush it with a little lemon and olive oil to make it stick.
This probably could have been brushed with the broth or water, but I really wanted to make sure it was well coated.
I am not sure if the lemon made a difference in taste, but it added to the liquid.
Each side was well coated.
Now I have a plate of fillets ready to pan sear.
I use my one really good non stick pan for everything so I really don't need a lot of oil.
When the pan was medium high I seared the fillets on each side.
They don't need long, because they have already been poached. I like to get a good colour on them.
I thought some avocado sauce would give it an extra Southern kick. I suppose you could say this added a little Tex Mex thing to it.
This is a tangy creamy sauce, which taste resembles guacamole but creamy. It's a fast simple sauce that can be whipped up super fast with a blender.
I was fortunate to find really good avocados for a decent price. They usually range from 2 to 4 dollars a piece. These were on for less then 2 dollars.
Avocado cream
2 medium avocados
Juice from 2 limes or more if you like
2 cloves garlic
2 Chile peppers or amount to your liking I used a couple of long red chilies but if I had jalapeno I would have preferred those instead for the flavour.
3 tablespoons olive oil or omit
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
Water enough to get it moving in the blender
Salt to taste
These are the approximate amounts that I used for these items. I always taste and add according to what I like.
I chose mashed potatoes to have with the tempeh. I put some raw baby spinach on the bottom and the heat from the potatoes wilted it perfectly.
I used much more of the avocado cream then shown in the picture. It was really good.
We ended up with leftovers and it was used for sandwiches the next day.
I know that many people tend to use tempeh for only Asian dishes, which I love as well. It can be used in any kind of dish with any kind of seasoning or flavours.
My first tempeh experience was a vegan "chicken" nugget battered and deep fried. This was a good way for me to appreciate this new thing at the time. Deep fried foods may not be the healthiest but they are fun and enjoyable once in a while. In the meantime I'm fine with the poaching and searing method. It really does the job.
I appreciate you stopping by. Have a great day.
Photos taken with a Nikon D7500