My first favorite. 

My second favorite.

Both are super easy and fantastic!!

Dibranchia requested the recipes I mentioned.  Sorry this is novel length. 

Northern Chinese boiled dumplings (jiaozi) with “pork” and fennel filling

Don’t be intimidated by the from-scratch dough; it gets really easy to roll out and fold up once you get the hang of it.  If you’ve never had jiaozi before, do a google image search for “jiaozi” and you’ll get a good idea of how they’re supposed to look.  There’s probably even websites with step by step images of how to fold the little things.  The dough recipe is adapted from Bryanna Clark Grogan’s, the filling is mine.   

1. Make the filling

Ingredients:
a block of tempeh (12 oz)
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 cube white fermented bean curd (in a jar from the Asian market)
3 cloves pressed or finely minced garlic
1 finely minced scallion
1 tsp microplaned ginger
big pinch 5 spice powder
3 tbsp neutral veg oil (canola, peanut, etc)
1 cup finely chopped fennel (use the leafy part, not the bulb)

Crumble the tempeh into a heavy skillet.  Add water to cover.  Cook covered for 10 minutes over med-high heat or until water is absorbed.  While it’s cooking mix together the other ingredients in a bowl.  Add all other ingredients besides fennel to tempeh and cook, stirring, until just beginning to brown and saucy ingredients are absorbed.  Remove from heat and let cool to warmish room temperature.  Add  chopped fennel and mix.  Set aside until you’re ready to fill the dumplings. 

2. Put a big pot of water on to boil. 

3. Make the wrappers and stuff the dumplings:

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour (all purpose flour works, but NOT pastry flour.  I don’t think whole wheat would work in this one because the starch is so important in sealing the dumplings)
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp hot water
Packaged dumpling wrappers certainly save time, and you can use them, but they’re harder to work with and fold, and much more likely to fall apart during cooking.  Also they don’t taste as good. 

Instructions:
Mix the flour and hot water into a dough in the bowl.  Knead for 5ish minutes on a floured mat.  After dough is bouncy feeling roll it out into a long rope.  You should get about 40 dumplings from the dough so keep that in mind when gauging how long to make the rope of dough.  Cut off a large-walnut-sized lump of dough from the rope with a knife of scraper and roll it into a circle about 4 inches in diameter with a small rolling pin (I use an empty glass kombucha bottle).  Fill with a tablespoon full of filling, fold in half and pinch in the middle along the edge so it looks kind of like a cannoli.  Pinch the rest of the edges closed with small folds (the pictures will help you figure out where to pinch.)  It’s very important that the edges are thoroughly sealed, or you’ll end up with empty dough wrappers and a pot full of soup.

4. Cook the dumplings:

by boiling gently 10 at a time for about 5 minutes.  When they’re cooked they should be tender but not squishy; test to ascertain doneness after 5 minutes. 

A good serving rule of thumb is 10-15 per person if it’s the only thing you’re eating.  Make a sauce of half soy sauce, half rice vinegar (apple cider vinegar works too) with a couple of crushed garlic cloves in it and dip each dumpling before eating. 


Korean barbecue tempeh:

Ingredients:
A block of tempeh
4 tbsp miso
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp agave syrup or sugar
2-3 tsp sesame oil
3 tsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp microplaned ginger
5 cloves microplaned garlic
4 scallions, white parts only, minced
2 cups veggie or mushroom broth

To make the sauce:
Mix together the miso, paprika, cayenne, ginger, garlic, scallions, and agave.  Heat a skillet to medium high.  Add sesame oil and sesame seeds.  Cook, stirring, until seeds are just starting to brown.  Add everything else but the agave, tempeh and broth.    Sautee for 3 minutes or so.  Don't let the garlic burn!  Add agave and broth and cook uncovered until reduced and saucy.  Preheat the oven to 350.

Slice the tempeh in half so it's thinner, then cut 2 more times until you have 8 pieces.  Marinate the tempeh in the sauce for as much time as you have in a baking pan (it's nice to save a little sauce to put on top of the tempeh).  When it's marinated put it in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes. 

I have carpal tunnel now, so the tacos will have to wait for another day.

I can't stand tempeh. I hate the texture and the taste. It's revolting and disgusting.

Also

omegachild wrote:

I can't stand tempeh. I hate the texture and the taste. It's revolting and disgusting.

Also

ooh! i did agree, but i made the tempeh sausage crumbles and made them into the gravy and that way they're good! you have to crumble the tempeh, and then you can make it nice and crispy when you're making the "sausage" before you add the gravy stuff. and it uses the stove top only, no oven. (does that help?)

THAT'S my fav tempeh recipe.

omegachild wrote:

I can't stand tempeh. I hate the texture and the taste. It's revolting and disgusting.

I thought this, too- for years and years- Then I broke down and tried the tempeh reubens in VwaV- they are soooo freakin' good that my bf and I make them a couple of times a month.
The tempeh bacon is also good on a sandwich (with tomatoes and a veganaise/hot red chili paste mixture- yum).

The key seems to be marinating it and then cooking it in a cast iron pan- for some reason that made a HUGE difference in the texture and taste (for me).

So, yeah, the reubens are my favorite tempeh recipe.

seitanicverses wrote:

bella&spike wrote:

So, yeah, the reubens are my favorite tempeh recipe.

I really have to try these!  They get raves all around.

+2
I love tempeh, I don't know why I haven't tried them yet, when I was a kid I LOVED reubens, so I have no excuse for not making them now...

My favorite recipe: leave the tempeh at the store and make scrambled tofu instead.