Veganomicon: Smoky Grilled Tempeh

On the weekends, David LOVES to grill! Since I've been in this "I don't feel like eating meat" mood, I decided to start browsing through Veganomicon to figure out what kind of interesting food David could grill for me. Ah-ha! Tempeh! Shannon introduced this food to me when she came to visit for new year's.

For those of you who don't know what tempeh is, it is similar to tofu, but made of whole soybeans and has a much firmer texture. Most vegans would describe tempeh as "meaty" and "nutty."

Check out these websites to get a better idea about tempeh:
Cooking with Tempeh -Vegan Coach
"Tempeh" -Wikipedia
What is Tempeh? -Soya

I found a great recipe: Smoky Grilled Tempeh. Thank you Isa and Terry (the fabulous authors of Veganomicon)!!

I wrote the recipe the way I made this dish, which may be slightly different in comparison to the original recipe.

Smoky Grilled Tempeh

Ingredients

• 1 (8-oz) pkg tempeh
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp liquid smoke, hickory flavor
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp pure maple syrup
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

1. Whisk all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Cut the tempeh in half, widthwise, then cut each half diagonally to make 4 large triangles.
3. Bring a pot of water to boil. When the water is boiling, lower the heat to a simmer, add the tempeh, and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Use tongs to place the tempeh in an 8x8 Pyrex dish. Pour the marinade over the tempeh. Marinate for 1 hour. Flip the tempeh occasionally to allow all sides to evenly marinate.
5. To grill: Grease a piece of tinfoil and lay it down on the grates of the grill. Place the tempeh on the tinfoil and grill each side for 5 minutes.

This dish was really good. The only issue I had was boiling the tempeh before marinating. You are supposed to boil or steam tempeh prior to marinating to remove the bitterness tempeh tends to have. It also helps allow the tempeh to soak up the flavors more when marinating. So for this recipe, I let the tempeh simmer for 10 minutes in water and unfortunately I have a pain-in-the-butt stove. The burners are a little screwy, so I don't think the tempeh sat in the water long enough for the steam to take away all of its bitterness. The tempeh was still a little bitter after grilling, but I will say, the marinade was delicious! What wonderful flavors! Next time I make this I think I will steam the tempeh for 10-15 minutes prior to marinating. I don't trust my stove!