Asian Salad with Tempeh
SERVES: 4 | PREP TIME: 10 MIN | COOK TIME: 40 MIN
Oh man, you guys. This is a good one.
Honestly, I love my Asian marinated tempeh. If you've tried my Asian Lettuce Cups, you already know what there is to love about it. It's hearty and flavorful without being rich. And it's a major win because Ethan AND baby Lila love it, too. Because I've had so many of you ask for salad recipes, I thought why not use this marinated tempeh like you would grilled chicken to a yummy salad. So trust me when I say, this is another excellent winter salad that you should be making right now. Prep all the ingredients separately and ahead of time and store them in your fridge, massage some kale, add your cold toppings and you've got yourself a truly gourmet meal (or work lunch!) for little effort.
It may seem like there are a lot of steps to prep this salad, but when you read through it you'll see it's really just a bunch of roasting and marinating, which requires very little active cooking. Just throw everything in a few pans and a pot, and leave it alone for a bit.
And I encourage you to use any seasonal ingredients to make this dish your own!
Asian Salad with Tempeh
SERVES: 4
PREP TIME: 10 MIN | COOK TIME: 40 MIN
INSTRUCTIONSPlace sliced red onion in a shallow dish and cover with red wine vinegar, and set aside. This is the process of quick pickling.
Set oven to 350, and place squash on a tray with a hearty drizzle of oil, and a big pinch of salt and pepper. In a baking dish, place carrots, nori crinkles and broth with a heavy pinch of salt. Mix gently so that carrots are covered with nori flakes. Place both the squash and the carrots in the oven on separate racks, carrots on the top shelf and squash on the bottom, and bake for 20 minutes until the carrots are tender. Check half way through and flip both carrots and squash. The squash may need an extra 10 minutes to brown up after the carrots have been removed.
Meanwhile, in a heavy bottom pan, melt 3 tbsp of the butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and give the pan a shake. After 2 minutes, tilt the pan slightly to pool the butter to one side, and spoon butter over mushrooms again and again for about 2 minutes, you don't want the mushrooms sitting in the butter. Add a light pinch of salt and remove from pan onto a paper towel lined plate.
In the same pan, add the remaining tablespoon of butter and turn back to medium heat. On a large plate, coat each side of the still slightly damp marinated tempeh with flour, and shake off all excess flour. Add coated tempeh to the pan and brown on each side. Remove from pan and once cooled, slice into 1/2" thick slices on a diagonal.
In a small mixing bowl (or 2 cup liquid measuring cup), add all dressing ingredients and whisk in oil until mixture has emulsified.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, massage prepped kale with 1 tbsp asian dressing for about 5 minutes until tender.
On a plate assemble your salad first with kale, then mushrooms, squash, carrots, tempeh, pickled red onion, and roasted garlic. Lightly pour dressing over top and garnish with sesame seeds.
INGREDIENTS FOR SALAD1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 delicata squash, cut in half, seeds removed, and sliced into 1/4" half moons
1 small bunch tri-colored carrots, washed and peeled
2 tbsp nori crinkles
1/4 cup vegetable or mushroom broth
1 bunch hen-of-the-woods mushrooms (oyster can be used, too!) cleaned and trimmed
4 tbsp butter
salt + pepper to taste
3 cloves of roasted garlic
1 package tempeh, marinated in Asian Marinade
1/4 cup almond flour or regular flour
1 small head lacinato kale, de-stemmed, cut and washed
toasted sesame seeds for garnish
INGREDIENTS FOR DRESSING1/2 cup tempeh marinade
2 tbsp miso
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp grated ginger
3 tbsp avocado oil
2 tsp sesame oil