Make Ahead

Tempeh Sambal with Basil

July  5, 2010
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

This is one of my all time favorite Indonesian tempeh ( where tempeh originated from) dishes. You can mix the basil with the sambal or serve the basil on the side. For spicier sambal, add more whole jalapeños. —COOKING-MAMA

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Ingredients
  • 1 packet (8oz) soy tempeh
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 bunch lemon basil (or regular basil), remove the stems
  • Sambal (Chili Sauce)
  • 3/4 cup cup ( about 1 small ) finely chopped onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, smashed, minced
  • 4 jalapeños, seeded, chopped
  • 1 whole jalapeños, chopped
  • 1 Roma tomato, coarsely chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
Directions
  1. Cut tempeh in half lengthwise, cut each half into 1/2 inch thick slices.
  2. In a medium bowl, put 1 cup of water, stir in salt and garlic powder. Put in tempeh slices, marinade at least 30 minutes, drain.
  3. Put 1/2 cup oil in a large skillet. Heat it on medium high. Shallow fry tempeh pieces until slightly golden brown on both sides ( about 3 minutes on each side), Remove from heat, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
  4. Remove oil from the skillet.
  5. Put about 2 tbsp oil back to skillet. Heat the skillet over medium heat. Stir fry onion and garlic until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add jalapeños and tomatoes, stir fry about 4 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water , salt and sugar. With back of spatula or large spoon mashed the onion, jalapennos and tomatoes. Put tempeh back to the skillet, slightly mashed it, cook a little longer until sambal is dry. Remove from heat.
  6. Arrange basil in a serving plate. Put sambal on top of it. Best serve with plain steam rice.

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1 Review

JPG July 29, 2014
Is the difference between the 4 seeded, chopped jalapeños and the 1 chopped jalapeño just the seeds? Thanks.