sticky pomegranate tempeh

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Tempeh is a nice change from tofu this and tofu that. It’s packed with nutrition—4 ounces of tempeh provides 19 grams of protein, 8 grams of fiber and only 167 calories. But, at least to me, that means nothing if it doesn’t taste good.

And, at least to me, it tastes good. I enjoy the chewy meaty-ness of tempeh. And like tofu, it’s very versatile because it takes on the flavor of whatever you use to marinate or dress it with.

Tempeh has to be cooked. And although it adds another step, you might like to steam the block before doing whatever it is that you’re going to do with it. Steaming the tempeh before frying or baking will give you a soft and tender inside and a crispy outside. It adds moisture and mellows the flavor. After that, you can slice it, cube it, or crumble it. Crumbled and seasoned, it fills in for sausage. Sliced and fried, it works in sandwiches, bowls, and as a dish unto itself.

How to Steam Tempeh

Some people cut the block of tempeh before steaming it, but I prefer to steam it whole. It’s super simple. If you have a steamer basket, use that to steam it for ten minutes. Or, put it into a microwave safe dish, add just enough water to cover the tempeh, cover the dish, and microwave it for about 5 minutes.

About Pomegranate Molasses: The word, molasses, as used here is a descriptive term. It’s consistency is like the molasses that we Americans are used to, which is a bi-product of refining sugar. Pomegranate molasses contains only concentrated pomegranate juice and, sometimes, sugar.

This is one of the brands I like. It’s lightly sweetened and contains no preservatives or other gunk.

The Marinade

This was one of those times when I start out with only a vague idea of where I want to go. I wanted sticky. I wanted pomegranate.

It was playtime!

I put the block of tempeh in a steamer basket in a pot on the stove, and steamed it for 10 minutes. Then, I let it sit until it was cool. I sliced it in half to make 2 blocks. Then I sliced them both crosswise into four pieces and finally cut each piece on the bias to make triangles. I now had 16 pieces, which I set to the side while I made the marinade.

I poured ½ cup pomegranate molasses into a bowl and added two big cloves of garlic, pressed. Because, what doesn’t need garlic?

Then I added ¼ cup date honey. It goes by many names—date honey/date syrup/silan. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s one of the most delicious sweeteners the world has to offer, all natural and made only from fruit, and it’s super high in lots of things that are good for you. In fact, if you really want to go all biblical, silan was the sweetener used in ancient Mesopotamia by our matriarchs and patriarchs—most likely, this is the “honey” that’s spoken about in the Torah, when it describes Eretz Yisrael as the land of milk and honey. If you’re sufficiently intrigued, you can buy some here. But if you haven’t got any, feel free to substitute light brown sugar.

Pomegranate molasses varies in sweetness from one brand to the next, so the amount of sweetener is really up to your personal taste. I found 3 tablespoons of silan gave it the sweet/tart balance I was looking for. You can use more or less.

I added 2 tablespoons of good olive oil, because a marinade needs fat of some sort.

I stirred it up and gave it a taste. Delicious as is, with only 4 ingredients.

But I wanted a little more complexity to the flavor. My eyes scanned my spice cabinet, imagining what each of them would bring to the dish, and I stopped at cardamom. It just seemed right. I didn’t measure, just added two little shakes from the jar into the bowl. It was amazing. But it still needed something to add a salty component, so I added 2 tablespoons of coconut aminos. You could also use soy sauce or tamari.

Although I wanted the final result to be thick and sticky, I thought that, as a marinade, it might be too thick for the tempeh to absorb it. I added ½ cup boiling water and ½ teaspoon of no-chicken bouillon. The hot water actually was a good thing, as it brought all the ingredients together.

And I was done. I poured my marinade into a square pyrex dish and gently added my tempeh triangles. It was perfect because the marinade was deep enough to completely cover the tempeh.

I let the tempeh hang out and soak up all of that deliciousness while I stopped to write this down.

sticky pomegranate tempeh

Ingredients For the Marinade:

• ½ cup pomegranate molasses

• ¼ cup silan (date syrup)

• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed

• 2 tablespoons 1st quality extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons coconut aminos or soy sauce (or tamari)

• a dash of ground cardamom

• ½ cup no-chicken broth, hot

• cornstarch for dredging

• additional oil as needed for pan frying (olive, avocado, sunflower…)

• Method:

• Combine all the above in a dish that can hold all the tempeh pieces in one layer, such as a pyrex or pie plate. (don’t use metal)

• Prepare the tempeh using the method described above—steamed and sliced.

• Place the tempeh pieces in the marinade, in a single layer. Allow it to soak for 30 minutes.

• Remove the tempeh pieces from the marinade, reserving the remaining marinade. Gently blot the tempeh with paper towels to dry them, the dredge them lightly in cornstarch.

• Heat some oil in a skillet and fry the tempeh pieces on both sides, until crispy and lightly charred at the edges. You can do this in batches, if necessary.

• Add all the fried tempeh back into the pan and add the reserved marinade. Cook over medium heat until the sauce is very thick and all the tempeh pieces are well-coated and crispy.

• Remove the sticky pomegranate tempeh from the pan and serve as you like. (Read on to see how I served them.) Any remaining sauce in the pan can be drizzled over the top of the dish—you can thin it back down with a splash of water, if you’d like.

I served this sticky pomegranate tempeh with my Seven Species Stuffing. The stuffing was mounded in the center of a round serving dish, with the tempeh triangles going all around the base, points up. You could do the same on individual plates, if you’d like. I finished the dish with thick slices of orange, cut into triangles, and then I drizzled a bit of the sauce over the top. A sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley, a few dots of sauce randomly around the plate, and it was gorgeous!

If you’re not making the stuffing, a simple pilaf works, too. Start with the basics and then make it your own. All you need is grain, a few aromatics, and a liquid, such as vegetable stock, no-chicken broth, or even water. It all depends upon the flavor you’re going for. Additional vegetables, herbs, and spices are optional.

Click here to find out how to make a Simple Pilaf.