This Sweet and Sour Tempeh is the vegan take on the Asian sweet and sour pork - a dish popular in many Vietnamese homes and local eateries. The name’s poetic, the ingredient’s ordinary, and by ordinary I mean it’s available in most local markets and easy to cook, not the fact it encompasses layers of flavors and is nutritional dense.
The tempeh is crunchy, somewhat chewy, the sweet and sour sauce is tangy, and all so addictive when eaten with rice so that rice-consuming is the top-notch compliment if you ever hear from a Vietnamese. (I’ve had a European friend ask my mom for another bowl of rice to eat with only the sauce, not this dish but true story!)
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🇮🇩 The Ordinary Extraordinary
Tempeh is widely considered a superfood nowadays yet before long it has been a part of traditional Indonesian cuisine. On my trip to Bali, I was stunned with the copious amount of tempeh appearing on the menus and local markets, or at cultural and religious Javanese ceremonies. People discussing tempeh, eating tempeh, buying tempeh, Indonesians and visitors alike. It is unreal to see a nutrition-powerhouse so affordable and celebrated.
Tempeh is traditionally made with cooked soybean that undergoes fermentation. The soy content is protein-rich, while also contains vitamins, minerals, and soy isoflavones which bring a plethora of health benefits, such as lowering cholesterol, decreasing oxidative stress, strengthening bone and muscle health.
Like any other fermented food, tempeh is recommended for a stronger gut microbiome because of two main reasons. One is the fermentation process helps break down several components which in turn aids digestion and absorption. The other is that fermented food contains a great deal of prebiotics and probiotics - the former is food for your ‘good’ gut bacteria, the latter is the good bacteria themselves adding to create your diverse and healthy gut environment.
💛 Why You’ll Love This Sweet and Sour Tempeh
- Simple and Easy to make - most ingredients are easily found in local markets, even the tempeh can be self-made at home.
- Nutritious and Affordable - tempeh is fermented cooked soy so it’s delightfully packed with proteins, a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, yet fairly low in sodium and carbohydrates, and price tag too!
- Rice-consuming - you’ll have to excuse yourself for eating too much carbs this time, but it’s totally worth it.
Here are more tempeh recipe ideas for you:
📝How to make Sweet and Sour Tempeh
Ingredients
- 1 block (250g) of tempeh
- Oil for frying
- ½ an onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic and shallot, minced
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1-2 stalks of scallion, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
Sauce ingredients:
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cut the tempeh in half lengthwise, then slice into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Shallow-fry the tempeh until golden brown on both sides, about 3–5 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, sauté the garlic, shallot and the white part of the scallions until fragrant.
- Add the onion and tomato with 2–3 tablespoons of water. Stir-fry until the tomato breaks down and forms a light sauce.
- Add all the sauce ingredients (except the black pepper) and mix well. Let it simmer for 1–2 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Put the fried tempeh back into the pan and toss to coat evenly. Cook for another 2–3 minutes so the tempeh absorbs the sauce.
- Finish with the green part of the scallions and freshly cracked black pepper.
🎯Tips for success
- If you’re allergic to or cannot consume too much soy, check out this homemade Chickpea Tempeh.
🍚Final Thoughts
This is one of my favorite dishes growing up. It still lingers in my mind that I used to devour the whole plate of sweet and sour pork with a bowl of warm rice. I never knew who brought about this brilliant balance of somewhat opposing flavors and how or why it’s so good, well, except for the obvious that my mom has mastered it and this is the hill I’ll die on. 😋
To this day I still don't know the answer, but I realize in order to contemplate it properly, I must ponder it while having a hearty plate of sweet and sour tempeh and a warm bowl of rice.
If you have tried my recipe, please let me know what you think by leaving me a review on this page or tagging me on Instagram @veggieanh. I would love to see your creations!
Print📖 Recipe
Sweet and Sour Tempeh
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2-3 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Sweet and Sour Tempeh is the vegan take on the Asian sweet and sour pork - a dish popular in many Vietnamese homes and local eateries. The name’s poetic, the ingredient’s ordinary, and by ordinary I mean it’s available in most local markets and easy to cook, not the fact it encompasses layers of flavors and is nutritional dense.
Ingredients
- 1 block (250g) of tempeh
- Oil for frying
- ½ an onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1-2 stalks of scallion, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
Sweet and Sour sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Cut the tempeh in half lengthwise, then slice into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Shallow-fry the tempeh until golden brown on both sides, about 3–5 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, sauté the garlic and the white part of the scallions until fragrant.
- Add the onion and tomato with 2–3 tablespoons of water. Stir-fry until the tomato breaks down and forms a light sauce.
- Add all the sauce ingredients (except the black pepper) and mix well. Let it simmer for 1–2 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Add the fried tempeh back into the pan and toss to coat evenly. Cook for another 2–3 minutes so the tempeh absorbs the sauce.
- Finish with the green part of the scallions and freshly cracked black pepper.
Notes
If you’re allergic to or cannot consume too much soy, check out this homemade Chickpea Tempeh.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stir frying
- Cuisine: Chinese, vietnamese
Hannah says
Loved this recipe!! Made it with tofu bc that’s what I had at home and it turned out great. The sauce is amazing like takeout sweet and sour but better and healthier.
Adriana says
Followed the recipe to a t, so delicious 🙂 thank you for the amazing recipe
Veggie Anh says
Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Leslie h says
I made this recipe a few days ago and I forgot to post my thoughts, it was awesome! The sauce was so delicious and I made my tempeh with broccoli Dx so good!!!
Veggie Anh says
Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Broccoli sounds awesome! 🙂
Sara says
What size can of pineapple?
Veggie Anh says
Hi Sara, a small can of 200g. Or half of a bigger can.
Rachel says
I love this recipe! I will be keeping this in my recipe book to make again and again. So delicious! Thank you 🙂
Veggie Anh says
Thank you so much for your review! <3