Vegan MoFo #19: Sweet & Sour Veggies with Tempeh (Sugar-Free!)

Yum yum. This dish is inspired by two different sweet & sour recipes, one is from the Real Food Daily Cookbook and the other from Vegan Table. I have been making the Real Food Daily recipe for several years now but wasn’t crazy about the amount of sugar in the sauce. Then I found a recipe in Vegan Table which uses apricot jam instead of sugar. Genius! What follows is my attempt to combo the two. I was very happy with how this came out. The sauce was a bit more on the sour side, so if you like it sweet I recommend adding the optional maple syrup.

This recipe looks like a lot of work but this is a high heat stir-fry so it cooks quickly. You will need to marinate your tempeh for at least an hour beforehand. I saved time by starting the tempeh the night before.

Sweet & Sour Veggies with Tempeh

Tempeh:

¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
1 tbls toasted sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced,
1 tsp ginger, minced
8 oz tempeh, cut into four pieces

Stir-fry:

1 tbls sesame oil
½ tsp red pepper flakes (or more if you like spicy)
2 small onions, chopped in large pieces
2 carrots, sliced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 heads baby bok choy, chopped
1 cup corn, frozen or fresh

Sauce:

5 oz apricot jam (I used sugar-free)
¾ cup water
¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup water + 3 tbls corn starch
2 tbls real maple syrup, optional (if you like more sweet than sour)

Directions:

For the tempeh, in a shallow dish, combine first 4 ingredients. Add tempeh and toss to coat. Cover and marinate for one hour or more. (I marinated overnight in the fridge).

For the stir-fry, chop all veggies before starting. Heat oil and red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add carrots and sauté for 4 minutes. Add bell peppers and sauté for 2 minutes. Add baby bok choy and corn and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until veggies are tender-crisp.

Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Place tempeh on foil-lined baking sheet. Broil for 5 minutes, flip, then broil for another 5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut tempeh into bite-sized cubes.

For the sauce, place apricot jam and water in a small pot. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup (optional), and water + corn starch mixture. You can also add any leftover tempeh marinade.

When veggies are tender crisp, add sauce and cubed tempeh to skillet and stir well. Heat for several minutes, or until sauce is thickened.

Serve over rice.