Tempeh and Vegetable Stir Fry Rice Noodle Bowl

I’ve given up meat. Completely. It was a long time coming. I first became a vegetarian at age 13. I stopped when I became pregnant with my older daughter. I’ve been mulling this over for a while now. Then, over Shabbat, I realized how put off I am by meat. I don’t have a problem cooking meat. I know how to prepare meat and make it taste good. I don’t have any PETA-like issues with other people eating meat. I just can’t bring myself to eat meat anymore. For now, I will just go back to being a lacto-ovo vegetarian (will eat dairy and eggs). I may one day go vegan, but I think this works for me. I feel better when I don’t eat meat and I am happy with my decision.

Today was one of those days that I needed to go through the fridge, use stuff up, toss stuff out. I found a package of tempeh that I had been meaning to use. Dinner on these kinds of days often ends up being one of those kinds of dishes where 75% of the ingredients could really be anything. It’s what I had on hand. What makes a difference though, is the sauce. Still, everyone was happy with dinner. My younger daughter had a huge bowl of it.

Tempeh and Veggie Stir Fry in a Hoisin Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:

1 8 oz. package of Tempeh, cubed
1 cup of veggie broth
1 onion, diced
6 cloves, chopped
2 tbsp ginger, chopped
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 small zucchini, diced
1/2 package of mushrooms, sliced
1.5 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup baby corn, sliced

Sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce

3 cloves garlic, mashed in to a paste
1 tbsp. ginger paste
1 tbsp. soy sauce
2 1/2

tsp. rice vinegar
1.5 tbsp. peanut butter
1.5 tsp. cornstarch
3/4 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp. sesame oil
red pepper flakes (optional)

In a wok or large saute pan, steam the tempeh in the 1 cup of vegetable broth for about 20 minutes.  Drain the tempeh and set aside.

Dry out the wok with a towel.

Saute the onions, garlic and ginger in teh vegetable oil.  Add in the tempeh. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add in the zucchini.  Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add in the rest of the veggies. Cook for another 5 minutes or so. You don’t want to overcook the veggies.

While veggies are cooking, mix up all of the sauce ingredients in a small mixing bowl.

Pour the sauce over the veggie mixture. Stir and cook for two more minutes.

I recommend serving the stir fry over some rice vermicelli noodles or perhaps some brown rice.

Enjoy!