Tempeh Stir Fry

This is not traditional stir fry! I have taken the principles of Stir Fry and made the steps easy and repeatable. The best part is you can swap out the vegetables as the seasons change, just use the same technique.
How To Make Tempeh Stir Fry






How to Prepare the Stir Fry Vegetables





How to Make Eggplant for Stir Fry





How to Make Stir Fry Sauce



Cooking the Tempeh Stir Fry











Chefs Tips
If you don’t own a wok it’s no problem, a large heavy sauté pan will work just fine.
The hard part with making a stir fry is getting the timing of cooking the protein, and vegetables and making the sauce, all without overcooking or undercooking the vegetables.
This stir fry recipe is a great dinner party dish, do all of the vegetable prep ahead of time, leaving you plenty of time to enjoy your guest and then impress them with how easily you cooked a stir fry that is full of bright, fresh robust flavors.

Tempeh Stir Fry
Servings: 4 People
Calories: 355kcal
This is not traditional stir fry! I have taken the principles of Stir Fry and made the steps easy and repeatable. The best part is you can swap out the vegetables as the seasons change, just use the same technique.
Print Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Wok optional
Ingredients
Tempeh
- 1 package tempeh small dice
- 1 Tbsp five-spice powder
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 3 Tbsp olive oil extra virgin
Roasted Asparagus and Red Bell Pepper
- 1 bunch asparagus cut on the bias, 1 inch in length
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 bell pepper red cut into strips and on the bias cut
Spiced Roasted Eggplant
- 1 Chinese eggplant
- 1 Tbsp Marsala pickling spice mix
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp olive oil extra virgin
Stir Fry Sauce
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp five-spice powder
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- ½ Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp olive oil extra virgin
For the Stir Fry
- 1 Tbsp ginger fresh grated
- 4 cloves garlic fresh, peeled, grated
Stir Fry Garnish
- 1 pickled red onion
- 1 cup scallions sliced thinly
- ¼ cup mint leaves fresh
- ¼ cup basil leaves fresh
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
How to make sauté tempeh
- Cut the tempeh into 1”x ½” rectangles. Toss the tempeh with the cornstarch and five-spice powder.
- Heat a wok or sauté pan over medium-high heat, add the extra virgin olive oil, and sauté the tempeh until crisp on all sides.
- Place on a baking sheet. Set aside.
How to make pan-roasted asparagus and red bell peppers
- Heat a wok or heavy sauté pan over high heat.
- Add the cut asparagus to the pan. Cook the asparagus without moving the asparagus, this allows the asparagus to become roasted and charred. Stir or flip the asparagus after cooking for 3 minutes.
- Add the extra virgin olive oil, and season with the kosher salt.
- Remove from the pan and place on the same baking sheet as the tempeh. Set aside.
- Add the red bell peppers to the same pan, cooking for 5 minutes. We are looking for the same texture and char as we have on the asparagus. Flip the peppers cooking for 2-3 minutes more.
- Set aside on the sheet tray along with the tempeh, and asparagus.
How to make Spice roasted Chinese eggplant.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Cut the eggplant into 2” rounds.
- Place the eggplant rounds in a large bowl, and season with the kosher salt, Marsala pickling spice, and the extra virgin olive oil.
- Use your hands to massage the eggplant, pressing the seasoning into the eggplant.
- Place the eggplant on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cook for 10 minutes. Flip the eggplant cooking for another 10 minutes.
- The eggplant should be a little crispy around the edges and deep roasted color. Remove the from the oven and set it aside with the other stir fry ingredients.
How To Make Stir Fry Sauce
- Combine the red pepper flakes, five-spice powder, cornstarch, soy sauce, water, maple syrup, sweet soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar.
- Whisk to combine. Set aside.
Creating the Stir Fry
- Heat a wok or heavy sauté pan over high heat.
- Heat 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and add the ginger and garlic. Cooking for 2 minutes.
- Continue to cook on high heat, add the crispy tempeh, and cook for 3 minutes stirring to toast all of the ingredients.
- Bell peppers go in next and stir to combine.
- Asparagus goes in next, scrape the bottom of the wok to remove any toasted pieces.
- Add the eggplant rounds.
- Pour the sauce into the middle of the pan, and stir to coat the vegetables.
- Push the vegetable up the side of the wok. Continue to cook the sauce over high heat, stirring and cooking for 1 roughly minute, or until thick. Stir to coat all of the vegetables.
- Spoon the stir fry onto a plate, garnish with sliced scallion, and gently scatter pickled red onions and torn pieces of mint and basil over and around the stir fry. The last touch is to sprinkle the stir fry with sesame seeds. Serve with steamed rice or pan-fried noodles tossed with salt and spice sesame oil.
Notes
Nutritional values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 355kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 1430mg | Potassium: 1011mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 2300IU | Vitamin C: 56mg | Calcium: 181mg | Iron: 6mg