Glazed tempeh with lemongrass and pineapple
sweet and sticky goodness for topping rice / noodles / bread
Welcome to Singapore Noodles, a newsletter dedicated to celebrating Asian culinary traditions and food cultures. Every week, you’ll be receiving a tasty mix of stories and recipes straight in your inbox. It’s great to have you here!
Two weeks ago, Wex and I were invited to Ăn Cơm cookbook author Phi Yến Phan’s home for a cosy dinner. If you’ve been a subscriber to this newsletter for a while, you might remember her from her guest post on thịt kho trứng. Phi put out a wonderful feast and one item on the table that I was particularly inspired to recreate at home was her garlic and chilli-flecked pineapple dipping sauce.
I know that pineapple in savoury food is a divisive topic (Wex hates pineapple in pizza), but its tropical sweetness really works with garlic and is delicious with seafood, meat, tofu — virtually anything!
Now that the whirlwind of her cookbook launch is over, Phi is working on her own line of fish sauce and Vietnamese dressings. I was particularly intrigued by her vegan fish sauce, which is formulated with seaweed and onion juice among other ingredients, and when she gave me some to take home, I knew I wanted to cook something inspired by her pineapple condiment.
Even if you’re on the fence about pineapple in savoury food, I do hope you’ll try the glazed tempeh in this newsletter: it is delicious, protein-rich, and more straightforward to make than you think.
Enjoy,
Pamelia
THE “BACEM” EFFECT
I first heard of tempeh bacem from Hairil Sukaime, one of the 24 cooks who contributed to my cookbook Plantasia. As a descendant of tempeh artisans in Singapore, he was the perfect person to reach out to for sharing his perspectives and knowledge on this popular plant-based food.
One tempeh preparation that he shared with me was tempeh bacem, where tempeh is simmered in palm sugar, spices, kecap manis, and palm sugar until the liquid (the flavours it carries) is completely absorbed. The tempeh is then deep-fried to create a crispy exterior.
I’ve also seen videos of tempeh bacem where the process is reversed: the tempeh is deep-fried first, then simmered in the flavourful liquid until it is coated in a shiny, sticky glaze.
My glazed tempeh is inspired by tempeh bacem, and riffs off the recipe in my cookbook Plantasia for tofu-stuffed bittergourd simmered in coconut water, lemongrass, garlic, and chilli.
It begins by caramelising some sugar in coconut oil; caramel-making is a common technique in Asian savoury cooking which provides a foundation of flavour and a rich, appealing colour in the finished dish. Once the sugar browns, I add chopped lemongrass, garlic, and chilli, allowing these aromatics to bloom. Finally, pineapple juice, fish sauce, and the tempeh is added and everything is allowed to reduce until sweet, sticky, and shiny.
This would be delicious over steamed rice or even as a substantial sandwich filling, but we chose to enjoy the tempeh in bún, the refreshingly light and herbaceous noodle bowls from Vietnam. Along with the tempeh, we had:
Herbs: roughly chopped mint, spring onion.
Pickles: store-bought pickled purple cabbage and homemade carrot & daikon pickle. For the latter, I cut the carrot and daikon with a mandolin and quick-pickle them in roughly equal amounts of sugar, boiling water, and apple cider vinegar; with salt to taste.
Chopped peanuts.
Kale, roughly chopped and charred in a blisteringly hot pan.
If you live in the Netherlands and would like some locally made (vegan) fish sauce and Vietnamese dressings, check out Phans. Not an ad, just want to support a friend’s product which we genuinely love. I used their plant-based fish sauce for the tempeh and the plant-based dressing to dress the bún and it tasted like the real deal.
Glazed tempeh with lemongrass and pineapple
Makes 2-3 servings; Vegan
Oil for deep-frying
7 ounces (200g) tempeh, cut into bite-size triangles
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 lemongrass stalk (bottom half only), finely chopped
1 bird’s eye chilli, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons vegan fish sauce (I used Phans’) or soy sauce
1 cup (240ml) pineapple juice
Pour enough oil to be 2 inches high in a saucepan and set it on high heat. When the oil is hot, add half of the tempeh (it should sizzle immediately) and fry for 3 minutes, or until the tempeh is as golden as a hashbrown. Remove the tempeh with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel-lined dish to drain. Repeat with the rest of the tempeh. Set this aside while you prepare the glaze.
Combine the coconut oil and sugar in a separate saucepan, and set on high heat. Allow the sugar to melt and caramelise to a light brown colour, stirring occasionally. This will take about a minute.
Add the lemongrass, chilli, and garlic. Stir-fry for half a minute to bloom the aromatics, then add the fish sauce or soy sauce and pineapple juice. Stir to combine, then add the fried tempeh.
Cook on high heat, stirring frequently, until the liquid reduces and the tempeh is coated in a thick syrupy glaze.