Last weekend, I was at this brunch place in Montclair, New Jersey- Absolutely fabulous and I was thrilled to see their Vegan and Vegetarian selections on the menu.
After pondering over an extensive menu:) and the indecisive person that I am esp when it comes to food- I decided to try their Vegetarian Chickpea burger with baked Sweet Potato Fries. I must tell you this that during my stay at Double Tree in L A prior to filming Master Chef, I happened to order their Vegetarian burger made of chickpeas and it was falling apart/ crumbling to say the least and dry!!!!
This one that I tried at Montclair was phenomenal!!!! Moist, crisp, dense and came with onion, tomato, sprouts:) and pickle!
OK now, I was also thinking of coming up with a bunch of dishes with Tempeh and have been experimenting in my kitchen. Suddenly, after we finish brunch, I run across the street to WHOLE FOODS and my husband thinks I have lost it as always 🙂 I grab an organic slab of 5 GRAIN TEMPEH. Now many of you may wonder what TEMPEH is?
TEMPEH is made of natural culturing process with organic grains like soybeans, brown rice, millet, barley, rye, apple cider vinegar and tempeh culture (typically Rhisopus oligosporus)LOL (thats my inner Microbiologist speaking out). It is low in calories and a great substitute to meat due to its HIGH PROTEIN content. Tempeh originated in Indonesia and has a distinctive nutty taste and nougat-like textured.
The thing about TEMPEH I have learnt over the past few months is that it easily absorbs the flavors of the other foods with which it is cooked making it adaptable to many types of dishes. I tried substituting TEMPEH with the Indian Cottage Cheese that I use in my traditional Curry and it turned out delicious!!!
According to my research- the soy protein in tempeh tends to lower cholesterol levels, while consuming protein from animal sources tends to raise them, since they also include saturated fat and cholesterol.
I can go on and on about health benefits and effect of TEMPEH on cholesterol ………After 3 days of trips to the park with kids, I decided to take a break today and cook up something with the Tempeh that I had picked at Whole Foods. I decide to make an awesome burger with TEMPEH. I love beets and so decided to use a beet sauce and bake some squash chips to go with my burger. The key is to season my tempeh with a bunch of my toasted spices and to use a binding agent !! The binding agent that I used in this case was CHICK PEAS and it turned out beautiful. I could use potatoes but chose to give Chick peas a shot! I use olive oil and use fresh GRAY SQUASH from my Farmers Market to bake some chips to go with my TEMPEH burger:)
I’ve tried tempeh a couple of times and have found the store bought versions difficult to use and often lacking in flavor. I do know that it absorbs a considerable amount of flavor from many other sources, but it’s difficult for me to use. It is a little crumbly. My binding agent of choice is mashed potatoes. I look forward to hearing more about your different uses for it. Hopefully I can try out one and find which one is to my liking.
I’d like to try making my own, but the mycological aspect of tempeh is daunting. I think that we have West Soy Tempeh at my Whole Foods, and perhaps a few local brands. I know that making it from scratch is the most delicious, but it’s a large undertaking. If I made my own, I would want to showcase it with a rijsttafel to match.
I forgot to mention my binding agent but of course updated my post now:) So I used Chick Peas Tim and it really did great in terms of binding the tempeh and if you see my click of the burger the patty looks intact. I know what you mean since the one I had in Double Tree was crumbling and falling apart and was made purely of chickpeas! I use a good amount of my toasted spices and so it was very flavorful. You are right- in that Tempeh needs a lot of flavoring and absorbs what you throw with it!!!
I will be trying more dishes and would definitely appreciate your take and feedback!
Thanks again Tim……
I’ll be happy to try any of your recipes. They always turn out so flavorful.
Love the story that came with the recipe Nandini! The burger looks so yummy!