Tempeh Joes

I’m 28 years old.

At the age of 9 when I tasted my first sloppy joe.  And, I still remember the sauce.  Delicious sauce!  I remember seeing the commercials on TV for Manwich sandwiches and see the kids wipe off the red sauce from their mouth with the back of their hand (“I want a Manwich please!”) and wanting my next sloppy joe (and a napkin).

At the age of 13, I had my last sloppy joe.  For no other reason than I moved to high school where sloppy joes were somehow left off the school lunch menu.  And, my Indian mom sure as heck would not be making a sloppy joe at home without adding her own Indian flair to it.  So, in an attempt not to dilute the original, I never requested it.

15 years later…

I bought some tempeh and marinated it in my favorite BBQ sauce.

Ignore the burnt spatula – I love that thing despite what I’ve put it through!

I added it to some sautéed onions, garlic, red and green bell pepper.

And I made my own Tempeh Joes!

And you can’t leave out the slaw (mine was shredded cabbage and carrots quickly warmed in a pan) or the pickle.

I finished and relished every bite!  It brought me back to the cafeteria lunch line, ya’ll – minus the mystery meat, which I discovered at age 15.

Tempeh Joes Recipe

Adapted from here

Ingredients

• Tempeh, 1 8oz package
• 1 and 1/4 cup BBQ sauce of your choice*
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced (optional)
• 1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

• Crumble the tempeh with your hands or a grater until it resembles ground beef.
• Marinade the tempeh in 1 cup of the BBQ sauce.  I added 1 tsp of Tabasco for a kick.
• While the tempeh is marinating, prepare your veggies.
• Heat non-stick pan over med-high heat.
• Once heated, add oil and wait to heat over same heat.
• Add onions, garlic, jalapeno (optional), and saute until soft.
• Add red and green bell peppers and continue to cook until tender and the onions have browned.
• Add the tempeh and the BBQ sauce to the veggie mix.
• Cook until heated and cooked through.
• *Add the 1/4 cup BBQ sauce and cook until warm.
• Serve on toasted buns (*snicker*)!

*Note:  I like my Tempeh Joes on the saucy side.  If you do not, then omit the 1/4 cup of BBQ and do not add it at the end.

This was my first experience with tempeh and it definitely won’t be my last!

P.S. I made a killer dressing to the slaw that’s creamy without any dairy!  That post is coming up soon!

Do you cook with tempeh?  If so, what do you do?  What’s your favorite way to cook it?

About these ads