Sticky, Spicy Tempeh

By Ali Slagle

Published Sept. 27, 2024

Sticky, Spicy Tempeh
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
20 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(1,203)
Comments
Read comments

Crispy tempeh glazed in a spicy-and-sweet soy sauce can anchor many a dinner, whether served over rice and vegetables, rice noodles, lettuce wraps or soup. Tempeh is a fermented vegan protein with a nutty flavor and firm texture that can stand up to assertive seasonings. That could be the fresh sambal in tempe penyet, a famous street food in Indonesia, where tempeh was first made — or this easily memorizable ratio of two parts soy sauce to one part each rice vinegar, brown sugar and chile sauce. Crumbling the tempeh into small, irregular pieces so that it resembles ground meat creates a variety of textures in each bite. To make it a complete meal, stir in spinach, peas or another quick-cooking vegetable with the sauce — or accompany with crispy raw vegetables like thinly sliced cucumbers or radishes on top of rice.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 2tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1 to 2tablespoons chile sauce, such as sambal oelek or Sriracha 
  • 3tablespoons neutral oil (such as grapeseed or sunflower), plus more as needed
  • 2(8-ounce) packages tempeh, crumbled into pieces no larger than ½ inch
  • Salt
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

338 calories; 23 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 1029 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and chile sauce until the sugar dissolves.

  2. Step 2

    In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the tempeh, season lightly with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mostly golden, 7 to 9 minutes. Add more oil as needed if the pan looks dry or the tempeh is burning.

  3. Step 3

    Reduce the heat to low, give the sauce another stir, add the sauce to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and glossing the tempeh, about 1 minute.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

5 out of 5
1,203 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

JenC

@elephantina no offense, but there are like a bazillion tofu recipes on here and like 3 tempeh. Thank goodness FINALLY a tempeh recipe. Bring us more please NYT!!!!

Fay Wouk

Instead of using brown sugar and regular soy sauce, you should really use kecap manis (Indonesian sweetened soy sauce). Tempeh is Indonesian (actually specifically Javanese) in origin, and that is what would be used in Indonesia to cook this dish. It’s not as salty as regular soy sauce, and is thicker as well as sweeter. This is very good with either roasted peanuts or very small dried anchovies thrown in with the tempeh. Also, the tempeh is not normally crumbled. It’s sliced matchstick size.

Kim

My dog was sleeping in front of the pantry and I would never ask him to get up, so instead of brown sugar I used molasses and a little of my own honey. I always double the sauce. We put this in rice bowls regularly. Delicious.

Allison

This is delicious! I halved the recipe with an 8oz block of tempeh to make 2 servings. For the sauce, I used honey instead of brown sugar and Szechuan chili crisp instead of sriracha. I ate this with a side of spicy pickled cucumbers and red onions (marinated in rice vinegar, soy sauce, Szechuan chili crisp, honey, and ginger) as well as a big scoop of ozuke citrus and ginger kraut.

Harley

This was delicious! If I made it again I would increase the sauce amount, I felt like it could've used another couple of tablespoons. I also used slightly less oil than called for to make it a tad healthier, which worked fine

Helen

I jumped on this rare tempeh recipe as I love tempeh, and have fond memories of a similar dish called Tempeh Lala at a bygone Asian-fusion restaurant. Mine turned out great flavor-wise, altho not as sticky as i was hoping for. Will have to keep experimenting and try the Indonesian soy or cook longer perhaps. Many folks complained it was too salty but that was not a problem for me because I use Coco Aminos instead of soy. A tad sweeter but much less salty, highly recommend!

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.