Tempeh Stir Fry (with Noodles and Tahini Sauce)

marinated and pan seared tempeh over soba noodles with green tahini sauce.

Tempeh Stir Fry (with Noodles and Tahini Sauce)

If you've never tasted a bite of pan-seared tempeh, and exclaimed, "That was so good!", then try this recipe! Tempeh is made tender with a key step, marinated, stir fried, and served over soba noodles with green tahini sauce.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: dinner, lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Southeast Asian

Keyword: How to make tempeh, tempeh tahini noodles

Servings:

Calories: 617kcal

Author: Kathy Marshall

Equipment

1 3 qt soup pot

Ingredients

16 oz. tempeh 2 x 8oz. packages
8 oz. soba noodles see notes
1.5 tbsp sesame oil half for below marinade, half to cook tempeh in.

Tempeh Marinade (plus half of above listed sesame oil)

2 tsp sugar or coconut sugar
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp white pepper or ground black pepper
1 pinch Aleppo chili flakes
1 ea lime juiced-see notes
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp coconut aminos or low-sodium tamari

Herby Tahini Sauce

1/2 cup tahini sesame paste
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 cup fresh mint
1 bunch green onions a.k.a. scallions
1 ea garlic clove large 2 if smaller
1 ea lime, juiced
1 tsp fish sauce vegan, see notes

Instructions

Mix marinade ingredients - 5 min

Whisk all marinade ingredients together in small bowl - 2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp ginger powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1 pinch Aleppo chili flakes, 1/2 of the 1.5 tbsp sesame oil, 1 ea lime, 1 tbsp sesame seeds, 2 tbsp coconut aminos.

Slice, parboil, and marinate tempeh - 15min

Bring small pot of water to boil. While waiting, slice 16 oz. tempeh into 1/8-1/4" slices, along the short side.
Drop tempeh slices into boiling water and cook for 5 min, then remove with slotted spatula/spoon and place in marinade, tossing to coat. Turn off stove, but use to cook noodles after making sauce.

Make the Herby Tahini Sauce - 10min

Thoroughly wash 1 bunch fresh cilantro, and 1 cup fresh mint, lay on towel and wrap to dry/remove water. Remove the mint leaves from stems. Keep Cilantro leaves whole with stems. See notes.
Wash 1 bunch green onions , trim root ends off and dry. Only trim off tops of greens if they are brown or bruised.
Add fresh herbs, green onions, and 1 ea garlic clove large to food processor/blender. Run the machine to finely chop all the ingredients, pulsing and scraping down the sides as needed.
Add the 1 ea lime, juiced, juiced, 1/2 cup tahini and 1 tsp fish sauce (vegan)/other sauce-see notes. Blend with pulses and scrape down sides. End by blending continually for 10 seconds or so to achieve smooth texture and green color. Taste and adjust with salt to taste. Taste and adjust, making sure you are happy with the level of tang of the lime or funk from the fish/other sauce.

Cook noodles and stir fry tempeh - 10min

Bring pot of water back to boil, and cook 8 oz. soba noodles according to package directions.
Meanwhile, heat skillet on medium high with the other half of the sesame oil.
Lay slabs of tempeh in heated skillet and cook a couple minutes, checking for golden and/or charred doneness on underside. Flip to sear other side. Move to plate.

Finish recipe, bring it all together-

Ideally, drain noodles and place directly into bowl of tahini sauce, or use tongs to move noodles directly into sauce from boiling water.
Toss noodles with tahini sauce and slices of tempeh, reserving a few tempeh slices to place on top of dish. Garnish with cilantro and sesame seeds. Consider an extra squirt of lime juice. Start slurping!

Notes

Fresh Herbs: cilantro stems are full of flavor and should be used, while mint stems are woody and should not be used. You can cut back one of these herbs and add in some basil as well, with stems.

Fish Sauce: This vegan sauce uses vegan fish sauce, or you can use coconut aminos, soy or tamari sauce, or regular fish sauce if you are not vegan/vegetarian. Any of these choices adds that funky flavor/umami. You could also use miso.

Soba Noodles: made from buckwheat flour, they are nutritious and have a great nutty flavor and tender texture. A great substitute is whole-grain thin spaghetti (I like the Barilla brand). You could use rice noodles or brown rice noodles too.

Asian Spice Blend: If you prefer to have more spices on hand for next time you make this or another recipe, you can make a full batch of my Asian Spice Blend.

Lime Juice: I've only used fresh lime juice and don't recommend reconstituted lime juice. Rolling the lime on the counter, pressing firmly with your hand, helps to loosen the fruit inside and release the juice more easily when you cut and squeeze the lime.

Nutrition