Asian Inspired Grilled Tempeh with Rice Noodles 🍜

Covered in a sweet, chilli vegetable sauce!

Nutrition

The main ingredient of this recipe is tempeh, which is a fermented product popular in Indonesia. Nowadays, it is also common in Europe and in the United States. Tempeh is made from soybeans and is the result of microorganisms’ fermentation. A culture of different microorganisms including moulds, yeast, lactic acid bacteria, are grown in fermenters with specific nutrients to create the tempeh. Research studies have shown that each microorganism plays a specific role during the tempeh’s production process: Klebsiella Pneumonia produces vitamin B12, Rhizopus oligosporus fungus produces phenolic compounds that inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria like Helicobacter Pylori and it is the main fungus responsible for the production of tempeh.

Tempeh is highly nutritious, as it is high in fibre, low in saturated fat and it contains all the 9 essential amino acids that we need to intake from the diet.Therefore, it represents a meat-alternative protein source. It is also high in calcium and it is easy to digest because the fermentation process breaks down the anti-nutritional factors such as tannins and phytic acids present in the soybeans, making it more easily to digest. It is an optimal food source for vegans and vegetarians who need to increase their vitamin B12 content, as it is rich in B vitamins. It is also recommended for postmenopausal women, who usually suffer from osteoporosis as tempeh is a rich source of calcium and isoflavones (e.g. phytoestrogens) that provide good bone health by increasing the bone mineral content.

What You Need

200 g tempeh

225 g rice noodles

One onion

One red chilli

Three spring onions

Five garlic gloves

One table spoon of sugar

One tin of sweetcorn

Three table spoons of sweet chilli sauce

All purpose seasoning

Method

Cooking time: One hour

Dice your onions, chilli and garlic cloves together.

Cut your tempeh into thin circles (like you see from the image) or rectangles and lightly season with all purpose seasoning.

Put your tempeh in the oven on 170 degrees for 20 minutes

Fry 3/4 in a hot frying pan for one minutes. Lower the heat and continue to fry until golden brown. Add your sugar and sweet chilli sauce and simmer for ten minutes.

Start to boil water and add a pinch of salt.

After the 20 minutes are finished, grill for a further five minutes.

Add your rice noodles to the boiling water and let sit for three minutes.

Add your sweetcorn, extra onion, chilli and garlic mix to the frying pan with 1/4 cup of water and stir until you get a consistent substance.

Place your rice noodles on a plate and slather your sweet chilli sweetcorn sauce over your noodles and place tempeh around the outside of your plate.

Now... eat!