Thai tempeh cakes

You may remember that in the past I have been lukewarm about tempeh, not really sure if I liked it or not. Well these tempeh cakes have convinced me once and for all that I do indeed enjoy tempeh. For me, it's all about the preparation - I find that tempeh is best crumbled or mashed into a patty and combined with strong flavors. This recipe is the perfect example, the tempeh is mixed with lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and cilantro and the cakes are served with a spicy-sweet dipping sauce...sounds pretty good, huh? I don't think I've ever had an appetizer like this before, and I really enjoyed it. I know that some of my readers have had bad experiences with tempeh - if you want to give it another chance, you should definitely try this!

Tempeh tacos

A few weeks ago, Meghan posted about making tempeh tacos for dinner. I was immediately intrigued - I've mentioned before that tempeh is not my favorite vegetarian protein, and that I have only really enjoyed it in veggie burgers. For some reason, I prefer tempeh when it is crumbled rather than eating it in large pieces, so the idea of trying it in tacos appealed to me. I decided to create my own spin on this idea, adding some brown rice to the filling to give the texture more variety, and flavoring the filling with ingredients I usually use when making chili: onion, garlic, tomatoes, cumin, chile powder, smoked paprika, and cilantro. For toppings I used some red cabbage that was quickly marinated in lime juice and honey, which added both color and crunch, as well as creamy avocado and salty feta cheese. I really, really loved the result. These were wonderful vegetarian tacos that didn't use the typical combination of beans and loads of cheese. I think this might be my favorite tempeh preparation so far, and I'm definitely more open to playing around with more tempeh recipes now.

Chipotle tempeh burgers

Have you ever tried tempeh? Do you like it? (In case you don't know, tempeh is a fermented soy product that is a good protein source for vegetarians). I'll admit that I have a difficult time with tempeh. It can be bitter and I think the texture is a bit weird in dishes like stir fries. I definitely find it to be a challenging protein to cook well. In fact, this veggie burger recipe is the only one I have ever cooked that made me truly enjoy tempeh. This recipe takes advantage of the texture of tempeh, using it to help add some chewiness to the burgers. The burgers are flavored with chipotle peppers, cumin, garlic, chile powder, and cilantro. Salsa and avocado complement these flavors well and make great toppers for the patties. Unsurprisingly, these burgers don't have the flavor or texture of meat, but they really are delicious! If you are new to tempeh or experimenting with homemade veggie burgers, this is a great place to start.

If you're interested in more veggie burger recipes, check out this post.