Sweet and Spicy Tempeh with Garlic Curry Noodles
Strips of tempeh pan-fried before being cooked with a kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)-based sauce with some garlic, onion, and chili. The sauce is a delicious and fragrant blend of sweet and spicy with a delicious savoury kick. Served the tempeh with some Garlic Curry Noodles for a satisfying and really heart, protein-packed meal.You can also opt to use tofu for this recipe, if you'd like!
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 2 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 380 g block tempeh (see notes OR)
- 450 g extra firm tofu (pressed and drained)
- Neutral oil (for panfrying)
- 1 small red onion (diced)
- 1 green chili (, I used siling haba (see notes))
- Salt (to taste)
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 5 tbsp kecap manis
- 5 tbsp water
- 1/8 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp chili sauce (I used sriracha, adjust according to desired spice)
- 1/2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp room temperature water
- 2 ramen bricks (or bundle of wheat noodles (70g each))
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 4 tsp curry powder (or more to taste)
- 2 tsp kecap manis
- 4 tbsp water
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- Chopped scallion
Instructions
- 1
If using frozen tempeh, make sure it’s thawed at room temperature. See the notes below on other tips to prepare tempeh.
- 2
Slice the tempeh into 1/2 to 1” thick pieces.
- 3
If using tofu, press the tofu for 10 tp 15 minutes then slice it into 1" thich pieces.
- 4
Heat a large non-stick pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add some neutral oil to coat the surface of the pan. Pan-fry the tempeh/tofu until golden brown, around 3 minutes on each side.
- 5
Remove the tempeh/tofu from the pan and set aside.
- 6
While the tempeh is pan-frying, mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste the sauce and feel free to adjust to your desired taste. Note that if using store-bought kecap manis, it can be watered down so I recommend adding more if needed.In another small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water to create a slurry. Set aside.
- 7
In the same pan used to pan-fry the tempeh, sauté the chili and onion over high heat in the oil for 2 minutes.
- 8
Pour in the sauce and leave to simmer over medium high heat.
- 9
Once it boils, lower the heat to medium.
- 10
Give the cornstarch slurry a good mix again. While mixing, pour in the cornstarch slurry into the sauce. Lower the heat to low.
- 11
Keep mixing until the slurry is well incorporated in the sauce.
- 12
Add back in the pan-fried tempeh and leave to simmer in the sauce for 4 to 5 minutes. Turn up the heat to medium and then flip over the tempeh to coat evenly in the sauce. The sauce will start to thicken and turn into a glaze.
- 13
Once the sauce thickens, lower the heat to prevent the sauce from burning.
- 14
Cook for 2 to 3 more minutes and flip the tempeh to evenly coat in the sauce. The sauce will thicken into a glaze-like consistency. Taste the tempeh and feel free to add more kecap manis or season with some salt, to taste.
- 15
Turn off the heat then remove the tempeh from the pan.
- 16
In a small pot of boiling water cook the noodles until chewy or according to package instructions. Remove from the water and set aside.
- 17
While the noodles are cooking, heat the same pan used for the tempeh. Add in the oil.
- 18
Sauté the garlic for 2 minutes until lightly brown.
- 19
Add in the water. The water will also help deglaze the pan.
- 20
Mix in the curry powder and kecap manis.
- 21
Mix well to dilute the curry powder. Add in the cooked noodles mix well with the curry sauce.
- 22
You can add more kecap manis and some salt and pepper, to taste, if you’d like. If the noodles are a bit dry, you can also add in a splash of water.
- 23
Turn off the heat and then serve the noodles with the tempeh.
- 24
Top the tempeh and noodles with some chopped scallions if you’d like. Enjoy!