Monday, March 31, 2008

March 31, 2008: Tempeh with a lil' less Buffalo

Tempeh-skeptic Fiber recently went wild for Buffalo tempeh "wings" and we were keen to give them a go. However, getting some wing sauce going here in Australia proved to be a bit of a challenge. It's composed of only three ingredients - Louisana-style hot sauce, ketchup and butter - so it seemed important to get all the components right. However, I've never seen such hot sauce on sale and a bit of internet research indicated that it wouldn't be realistic to try to make it myself. Instead I decided to make our favourite Chinese style barbeque sauce - it looked like having the necessary consistency and zing, if not the right ingredients or origin.

Tempeh is a funny one. It has a substantial, almost meaty, density to it but it's a bit dry. I had high hopes here but even the sauce didn't provide sufficient moisture for me. We were rather taken by the crumbing though, and Michael suggested that we could try it with tofu - after all, it works great for the 'fish' fingers. I'm foreseeing a sauce squabble too, with Michael voting Chinese-style and me on Team Tartare.

If you'd like a shot at these wings (no buffalo or birds need be harmed!), head over to 28 Cooks.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Cindy, I think tempeh is great!

    I had it for lunch today in my sandwich.

    You're right, it can be a bit dry, perhaps you could try using it as a part of something else? Just a thought, perhaps a salad with steamed tempeh strips?

    Salad probably needs something juicy like tomatoes to go with the dry'ishness of the tempeh.

    I just did a quick search, and there's a bunch of tempeh recipes on tempeh.info.

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  2. Tempeh's awesome!! Love it with salad at Vegie Bar on Brunswick street, or in laksa at Shakahari! In more energetic moods, I've fried it myself to eat at home. Yum!!

    xox Sarah

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  3. Hey, I might just be a vegetarian, these look really good! You might find a Louisana style hot sauce at USA Foods, who have just moved to Moorabbin, also the hot peri-peri sauce that Nandos sell is pretty similar.

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  4. Hi William! Thanks for those ideas, I think you're right that tempeh needs something juicy on the side. I loved it in the sticky soy wrap at Tom Phat, so I'll take my cue from that next time. :-)

    Mmmm, Sarah, now I'm picturing it floating in laksa and soaking up all those flavours. That could be very good.

    Ah, perfect - thanks Neil! I could really go a shopping spree at that place. I'm already searching my diary for a free Saturday to travel to the distant south-east...

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