Tempeh (tomatoes, vinegar, taste, burger)

[Marissy]

Hello!

I bought a pack of Tempeh from Trader Joe's today.

It was beige in color, but had a lot of black spots and veining, which I know is to be expected for tempeh. My question is, how do you know if there is too much veining/if the tempeh has gone bad? The tempeh I bought had a bit more spots than the images of tempeh that I have seen on the internet, but that was it, there was no fuzz or anything.

I cut it in slices, sauteed it (7-10 minutes), and added diced tomatoes and white wine vinegar (simmered for 7-10 minutes) . It had a nice nutty, bitter taste to it. Is there some special way tempeh is supposed to be cooked? Did I cook it the wrong way? After eating it, I read on another site that tempeh is supposed to be boiled first. I really hope that I don't get sick.

[bongo]

Tempeh does not have to be boiled. I too saute it with stirfried veggies & then a sauce. I've used it that way for 30+ years. I wouldn't boil it unless I was adding it to vegetarian chili, which I have done. We also slice it in half so its 2 thin squares, fry them & eat them on buns with mustard, lettuce & tomato as a tempeh burger.

It does have that black spotted/veined look:

Google Image Result for http://www.plantfoods.org/images/foods/tempeh_400.jpg

Tempeh is fermented so has a distinct taste, but like tofu will pick up the flavors of a sauce.

[JustJulia]

You can simmer tempeh in some broth to soften it up and flavor it, but you don't have to.

Trader Joe's sells tempeh with little seeds and grains in it. If yours smelled fine and tasted fine, it's OK to eat.

[Marissy]

Thanks for the replies. I bought some more the other day and boiled it, but will just only stir fry it from now on since that took away soooo much flavor. The ones I bought were slightly less veined than the ones I bought at first, so I am thinking that while it was still good, it was just older inventory that the employees placed in the front. It was still good though.

I can't wait to try your tempeh burger. It sounds good!

[bongo]

For the burger, cut the block in half so that the halves are thinner than the whole, then fry.