Tempeh soaks up the sweet, sour, spicy and salty flavours of coconut sugar, fresh lime juice, thai chili, ginger, and tamari in this protein rich dish! Tempeh is a fermented soy bean cake that is more easily digested and higher in protein than tofu. It is meaty in texture and perfectly complimented by yams mashed with a bit of coconut cream and Thai green curry paste. You can find the recipe for the curry paste on my post for Veggie Thai Green Curry. If you are using commercial Thai green curry paste, use much less as it is more concentrated.
The Yams:
-serves 4
- 4 cups of yams, peeled and cubed into one inch pieces
- 2 Tbsp. of Thai Green Curry Paste (see Veggie Thai Green Curry recipe, freeze left over paste in a zip lock bag)
- 1/4 cup of coconut cream (the thick cream at the top of the can of full fat coconut milk, reserve the rest for smoothies)
- 1 tsp. of pink himalayan salt
- 1 Tbsp. of fresh lime juice
Boil yams in a large pot in plenty of water. While the yams are cooking, prepare the tempeh ingredients. Strain the cooked yams and place them back into the pot. Add the curry paste, coconut cream, salt and lime juice to the yams and either mash with a potato masher or blend with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Taste to adjust seasonings, adding more curry paste if you love spice or more salt to your liking. Set aside to heat just before serving once the tempeh is ready.
The Tempeh:
Serves 4:
- 2 pkgs. of frozen Tempeh, thawed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 3 Tbsp. of olive or avocado oil
- 1/2 cup of coconut sugar
- 1 heaping Tbsp. of finely grated fresh ginger
- juice of one lime (about 3 Tbsp.)
- 1 thai red chili, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp. of gluten free tamari
- 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro chopped
- 1/2 cup of lightly toasted peanuts or almonds
Heat a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil, allowing it to heat for a few minutes. Stir in the coconut sugar, ginger, lime juice, minced chili, and tamari. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens slightly to a runny syrup.
Add the tempeh to the syrup, stirring constantly until most of the sauce has been absorbed by the tempeh. It should still be sticky and moist.
Warm the yams. Serve with the tempeh topped with lots of fresh cilantro and toasted peanuts with a mixed green salad. Leftovers are amazing cold the next day!