TEMPEH, CRUNCHY TEMPEH SALAD
A delightful vegetarian salad with a "meaty' flavor and crunch and a spicy dressing.
Serves 6.
Sesame Dressing
• 1/4 cup brown rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup sweet rice or rice miso
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
• Apple juice to taste
• Freshly ground white pepper to taste
Salad
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 package tempeh, cut into 1/4 " thick strips
• 10 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed
• 1 Ib. Napa cabbage, shredded
• 3 medium carrots, shredded
• 1 medium red bell pepper, halved, seeded, and cut into thin strips
• 1 cup peeled and shredded jicama
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
For the Sesame Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, miso, honey, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes, adding apple juice as needed and pepper to taste.
For the Salad: In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the tempeh and mushrooms until tempeh is lightly browned.
While tempeh and mushrooms are cooking, combine cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, jicama, and cilantro in a large bowl. Add enough dressing to lightly coat, tossing to blend well.
Arrange the tempeh and mushrooms on top of the salad mixture on individual plates. Serve at room
temperature or chilled.
Chef's Notes
• Kome miso is made with soybeans and rice and is the sweetest of the misos. Shiro miso, sweet rice, is sometimes called "white miso" and has a light, sweet taste, suitable for use in a wide variety of dishes.
• Tempeh is a fermented soybean cake with a nutlike texture and taste.
• Jicama, a large, bulbous root vegetable often referred to as a Mexican potato, has a thin brown skin and white crunchy flesh.
• Napa cabbage has crinkly, thickly veined leaves that are cream colored with brighter green tips. The flavor is crisp and delicately mild.
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