I am really fussy about tempeh in general. Sometimes the flavor/texture just doesnโt sit right with me! I will pump myself up to eat it, load the tempeh up with flavors that I like, and then Iโll put one morsel in my mouth and it just wonโt click for me. Iโve been working on this sticky ginger tempeh for a while and it is definitely helping! This air fryer tempeh is another recipe that converted me.
The culturing process is what gives tempeh its solid, patty texture and signature nutty/earthy flavor. Tempeh can taste mushroom-y sometimes!
Those earthy notes are well-complimented by punchy and rich flavors like chili, ginger, lime, and soy sauce, which are all utilized in this recipe. We first steam the tempeh to remove any trace of bitterness. Then, itโs crumbled up and lightly browned, and finally finished with a salty, sweet, and slightly spicy sauce.
The sauce thickens slightly, clinging to the browned bits of tempeh. I opted to serve this with some coconut rice to make it a bit more special. Crumbling the tempeh was a breakthrough for me. Tiny pieces coated in a strongly flavored sauce makes it much easier for me to enjoy.
I hope that you give this sticky ginger tempeh recipe a try. The tempeh itself comes together pretty quickly and simply, which is a nice bonus!
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Sticky Ginger Tempeh with Coconut Rice
Ingredients
COCONUT RICE
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon coconut palm sugar
- sea salt, to taste
- 1 cup brown rice, thoroughly rinsed
- ยฝ teaspoon lime zest
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
TEMPEH
- 8 oz block tempeh, cut into 1 inch slices
- ยผ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce of choice (optionalโor use less!)
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 inches fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Notes
- I would serve this with a simple side of steamed/roasted broccoli or green beans.
Instructions
- Make the coconut rice. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the coconut milk, water, coconut sugar, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring a few times to dissolve the sugar. Add the rinsed brown basmati rice to the saucepan and stir. Bring the coconut rice up to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, and then cover the saucepan with a lid. Simmer until almost all of the liquid is absorbed, about 40 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Add the lime zest and juice to the coconut rice and fluff/lightly stir with a fork. Return the lid to the pot and let it sit on the warm stove for 3-4 minutes, or keep warm until ready to serve.
- Make the sticky ginger tempeh. Cover the bottom of a medium skillet with water and place it on the stove over medium heat. Once itโs simmering, add your tempeh slices and cover. Steam the tempeh for 10 minutes. Remove the tempeh from the skillet with tongs and place it on a plate to cool. Rinse the skillet and wipe it out. Youโll be using it to finish the tempeh.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the low sodium soy sauce, coconut sugar, hot sauce, and lime juice. Set aside.
- Pat the steamed tempeh with some a clean kitchen towel to dry. Crumble the tempeh into little pieces.
- Return the skillet to the stove over medium-high heat. Pour in the avocado oil and swirl it around. Add the tempeh to the skillet and stir. Sautรฉ the tempeh until the pieces are lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. Season the tempeh with pepper and stir. Add the ginger and garlic to the skillet and stir until quite fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Pour the soy sauce mixture into the skillet and stir, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the skillet with a spatula if necessary. Keep cooking the tempeh until the sauce has caramelized slightly and turned deeper brown, about 6-7 minutes. Check the sticky ginger tempeh for seasoning and then adjust if necessary (more pepper, hot sauce, lime etc).
- Serve the sticky ginger tempeh hot with coconut rice and sliced green onions.
Laura, this recipe is incredible. Truly the best tempeh Iโve ever had, and the rice is delicious too. Iโve been following your blog for years, and you always deliver such beautiful recipes. Thank you for sharing your talent with us.
This was an absolutely delicious recipe. I didnโt have tempeh, but used extra firm tofu. I canโt believe how the steaming made the tofu turn out so fabulous. I have NEVER had tofu turn out this yummy. My twenty year old son even loved it.
Absolutely SUBLIME!!!
This is was extremely flavorful and the coconut paired superbly with the tempeh
Delicious!!
I made this tonight for the first time. It is very, very good. My husband loved it which is always good. Itโs a very easy recipe to make. I love that it is sweet and spicy. I used Matouks hot sauce and it was fabulous! I will make this regularly as we loved it!
This was DELICOUS!!!! I made it last week and had leftovers for lunch and I am already planning on making it again this week for the family :)
This has become a household staple!! We love it so much YUM have started having sliced cucumber on the side, delicious.
Gives me a new creative way to make tempeh, thank you! As much as I love a full fat coconut rice, I only had coconut water on hand, but that worked out quite well too. Will be doubling up on tempeh for my leftovers next time!
Oh, this was so, so good! Thank you for the recipe! I made extra coconut rice, and I could eat it and the full meal every single day. Fantastic taste and very easy to make. Steaming the tempeh completely eliminated the bitterness. What a discovery!
So happy to help you discover the steaming trick, Stacy! Thank you for this kind comment and review :)
-L
It was delicious, so happy too find a tempeh recipe I like. I have avoided Tempeh but I will definitely be doing this recipe a lot.
This was good, I was expecting a stickier sauce (like ginger fried beef), but the sauce was mostly absorbed by our Tempeh (it was homemade green pea tempeh โ so that might be it). It was mushier too than I would have liked.
My husband read the tempeh ingredient as 18oz, not 1x8ozโฆ perhaps you can fix the recipe to make that clearer. We made a lot! ha!
Iโm so sorry about the confusion with the tempeh amount/size! I will edit this to make it clearer. Thank you for the feedback!
-L
I really like this recipe, but the tempeh does not get very sticky (almost mushy sometimes), what could I do to fix this?
Hi! If the tempeh is mushy, I would avoid breaking it into super small โcrumblesโ. Perhaps just dice it into cubes instead?
-L
I made this today and wasnโt crazy about the balance of flavors. It was much too tamari/ soy sauce heavy.. and the reduction just made it saltier and more soy sauce tasting.. I added more lime and sugar but it just wasnโt right.. I also found the Tempeh broke into tiny bean-sized pieces and tasted a bit dry in the inside. I would start with 1/2 the amount of tamari and add some water to thin the sauce out as it reduces. You can always add more after. Maybe add some sweet Mirin or sweet Thai chili sauce in addition to the sugar?
This was excellent, even the meat-lovers in our house didnโt hesitate to polish off every last bite. Highly recommend the coconut rice. Thank you so much for the recipe!
So glad that everyone enjoyed it, Anita! Thanks for this kind review.
-L
Hi :) I would like to make this amazaing recipe but I do not know how many grams of tempeh is the 1 8 oz block as I can find it properly. Could you please help me with this one? Thank you!
Hi Veronika!
8oz is roughly 227 grams :)
-L
This recipe tasted like something Iโd get at a restaurant, not make in my own kitchen. I loved the coconut rice and the tempeh was even better than I thought it would be! Iโve tried many Asian-inspired stir-fries, but this one far surpassed the others. It will be my go-to from now on.
I have been trying to find a way to love tempeh and this is it!! (I used agave and it came out perfectly) X
So glad that you enjoyed the tempeh here! It can be tricky :)
-L