Barbecued Tempeh

Sandi (From CA)'s Note:

Barbecue sauce transforms virtuous tempeh into finger-licking comfort food. One of the benefits of homemade barbecue sauce is the ability to adjust the seasonings to suit your own taste. Use the recipe below as a guideline, altering the ingredients as you see fit. (In a pinch, bottled barbecue sauce may be used.) Times are estimated. Recipe courtesy The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 5 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 lb tempeh , cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion , minced
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• 1 ½ teaspoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• ¼ cup unsulphured molasses
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons tamari or 3 tablespoons other soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1⁄8; teaspoon cayenne

Directions:

1. Place the tempeh in a medium-sized saucepan with water to cover, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Drain the tempeh and pat dry. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the tempeh and cook, turning, until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. Add the onion, garlic and ginger to the skillet, cover and cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomatoes, molasses, mustard, tamari, vinegar and cayenne and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, to thicken the sauce slightly and develop the flavors, about 15 minutes.
6. Return the tempeh to the sauce and cook for 10 minutes longer, then serve.

Reviews

[VeggieBunnyLilo]

I made some changes, but FANTASTIC! I broke up the tempeh, simmered, drained, strainer and patted dry with a towel. I added a bit of olive oil and sauteed the crumbles for about 10 minutes, used Jack Daniels BBQ sauce and had a fresh, soft Portugese roll! Best dinner in a while and I did it within my WW points for the day! THANK YOU for posting!

[Sir Woody Hackswell]

This is a GREAT recipe! This recipe was my first tempeh ever, and it ROCKS! I never knew how easy it was to make your own BBQ sauce, too! (No preservatives or chemicals, too!) I did do a couple of minor modifications, mostly due to what I had on hand. Instead of cayenne, I used chipotle peppers. Great smoky, spicy flavor! For some reason I saw "tamari" and thought tahini (sesame seed paste) and added that. It still seemed to work. (Even though I did put the soy sauce in, too). The recipe calls for 16oz of tempeh; most tempeh is sold in 8 oz. To make up for the lost bulk, I added some shitake mushrooms to the mix, which worked well. I also served this over quinoa (made with oil, thyme, rosemary, and oregano). This worked EXCELLENT.

[Nikoma]

WIN! Great recipe. I halved it for the 2 of us, and would say the whole recipe must serve more then 4! O.O When I first tasted the sauce I thought it was going to be rather bland and tomatoey, but it simmers into something quite grand! I did add little extra molasses and vinegar to mine - just minor tweaking. This was a great introduction to tempeh for my fiance! No complaints! I would recommend this to anyone, especially first timers. Of coarse the longer it sits in the sauce the better. I'll bet this would be great done in the crock pot, left on low for a few hours!