Turns out that PETA’s website is a fantastic source for delicious vegan recipes! I was browsing around there and found this wasabi pea encrusted tofu recipe. I made it with tempeh (because that’s what I had in my fridge), and it was incredible!
I was especially excited to find this recipe because I just bought a little bag of wasabi peas that turned out to be disappointing. So this seemed like a really fun way to use them up – and it was! Of course now I’m out, and have to buy more so I can make this again!
I had a little trouble getting the pea coating to stick to the tempeh, so I added a step in the breading process. I’m not sure if the same thing would’ve happened if I’d used tofu, but you can try to skip the soy milk step below if you want.
Here’s what I did:
serves 2
1 serving tempeh (I found this very filling with the nice coating, and with rice and veggies on the side; but use as much tempeh as you like)
1/2 C low sodium soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T brown sugar
1/2 C unsweetened soy milk
1 T wasabi paste
1 cup wasabi peas, ground
1 T canola oil
Steam tempeh for a little over 5 minutes. I do this over my rice while the rice is cooking – you can do the same thing on the stove top.
Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and sugar in a bowl. When tempeh is done steaming, soak in marinade for several minutes.
Combine soy milk and wasabi paste in a shallow dish. You could use mustard instead of wasabi paste, but I promise this did not make it spicy at all. The wasabi flavor in this dish is very subtle, and there’s really no heat to it.
Crush wasabi peas and place in another dish. Heat canola oil in a pan over medium heat.
Take tempeh out of marinade, shake off excess marinade, then dip in the soy milk mixture, and then coat with wasabi peas. Cook in oil until brown and crispy on both sides.
I served this with my yummy ginger-lemongrass rice.
Ginger-Lemongrass Rice:
serves 2
1/2 C long-grain brown rice, rinsed
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into coins
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into one-inch pieces
1 1/2 C water
Place all ingredients in a rice cooker and cook according to machine directions. If cooking on the stove top, then place all ingredients into a saucepan, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until rice is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove the pieces of ginger and lemongrass before serving.
A few tips if you’re unfamiliar with lemongrass.
Here’s what lemongrass stalks look like:
You can find them in most large grocery stores or health food stores – it’s usually near the ginger. Or sometimes the leeks.
To really bring out the flavor, smack the lemongrass stalk around a bit. I hit it with the back of my knife several times before cutting it into pieces.
With some sauteed bok choy on the side, this is a perfect meal!
Nutrition facts per serving of tempeh (varies depending on how much marinade and peas you actually end up eating): Calories: 211.8; Calories from Fat: 105; Total Fat: 11.6g; Saturated Fat: 1.4g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 333.8mg; Total Carbohydrates: 17.3g; Dietary Fiber: 4.6g; Sugars: 1.3g; Protein: 10.1g
For a printable version, click here.
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