As I was thinking of what to make for lunch yesterday before work, I realized I had some leftover quinoa that I purchased a few months ago from at Cleveland’s . I usually eat a lot of quinoa because not only does it contain so much protein but it can be paired well with any kind of vegetable, on top of a salad, in a stir-fry, turned into a veggie burger… the possibilities are quite endless. Along with being very versatile, it takes about 20 minutes to cook. I usually cook mine in water and some might argue that makes it very bland but when paired with sauces or vegetables, it works for me.

As I was thinking of what to make for lunch yesterday before work, I realized I had some leftover quinoa that I purchased a few months ago from Urban Herbs at Cleveland’s West Side Market. I usually eat a lot of quinoa because not only does it contain so much protein but it can be paired well with any kind of vegetable, on top of a salad, in a stir-fry, turned into a veggie burger… the possibilities are quite endless. Along with being very versatile, it takes about 20 minutes to cook. I usually cook mine in water and some might argue that makes it very bland but when paired with sauces or vegetables, it works for me.

 This time, I decided to use vegetable broth while heating up my quinoa and paired it with some sautéed broccoli, mushrooms and tempeh.

For those of you out there who are very confused by what tempeh is… don’t worry, so was I when I first saw it. I first heard of this mysterious product last year when I moved to Chicago. With so many different vegetarian and vegan restaurants around catching my eye, a ton of them obviously had tempeh. Tempeh is like tofu due to the fact it is made of soy and is a great protein substitute instead of meat (20g in 4oz!) but it has brown rice alongside it. This is why it tastes quite nutty.

I think my first tempeh experience was at Native Foods Café in Chicago when I tried the Caribbean Jerk Kale Salad with tempeh, avocado and mango. Ever since, I’ve been on a tempeh kick and always buy some from Trader Joe’s (or Whole Foods – although they sell it for a dollar or two more). Not only is it good for salads but putting it on a sandwich with some hummus or avocado is a good choice too.

I’ve seen a few recipes for marinated tempeh and most of them have you soak your tempeh slices in a tamari/maple syrup blend or a balsamic vinegar mixture for about 30 minutes. I tried to aim for that yet I ended up leaving it in a bowl for about 2.5 hours while I ran errands.. oops. I came home to my little tempeh slices entirely soaked in my brown maple-y mixture but once I threw them on my skillet, they turned out alright. Very sweet and salty – perfect combo.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Maple Tempeh and Quinoa Stir-Fry

 

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Prep time

35 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

 

Marinated tempeh in a maple syrup and tamari marinade with quinoa, broccoli and mushrooms.

Author: Addie Martanovic

Recipe type: Lunch, Dinner

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients

• 4oz block tempeh
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tbsp low sodium tamari
• 1 cup broccoli
• ½ cup sliced portabella mushrooms
• 1 cup kale
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• ½ cup quinoa
• 1 cup vegetable broth

Instructions

1. Add maple syrup and tamari to a small dish and mix.
2. Slice up half a block of tempeh into thin strips and let them soak into your mixture for 30 minutes.
3. While tempeh is marinating, heat up 1 cup vegetable broth over medium-high heat and add ½ cup quinoa.
4. Cook for around 15-25 minutes until quinoa has popped and soaked up all of the liquid.
5. Coat a skillet or non-stick pan with 1 tbsp coconut oil (could use sesame for a more asian taste) and sauté mushrooms, broccoli, kale and tempeh.
6. Saute until tempeh has a slight brown color.

3.2.1311

Like always, I heavily burned my vegetables and tempeh but not too too bad. Oddly enough, I enjoy it sometimes a bit burnt. The flavor of the maple syrup soaked into the tempeh was really a perfect pairing to the broccoli and mushrooms. Having burnt kale chips is sort of nice when they resemble kale chips… although that wasn’t what I was aiming for. You win some, you lose some.

I topped my stir-fry onto 1/2 cup of the cooked quinoa and although it didn’t look like a large meal to my eyes at first, it was pretty filling. Can’t go wrong with quinoa and veggies.

I recommend making this pronto because it’s easy, pretty affordable, makes good leftovers if you double the recipe and probably not something you’re used to.

-Addie