Smokey Tempeh Burger

What’s tempeh?
An Indonesian staple made by fermenting cooked soy beans for 2-3 days. After 3 days mould forms and binds the soybeans forming what they call a ‘tempeh cake’. It has a nutty flavour and is a very dense source of protein and probiotics. Unlike tofu which is made up of mostly soymilk, tempeh is made up of the whole bean so its nutritional profile is also much higher.

Tempeh may be found in most health stores around the island however if you wish to do it yourself (much more cost effective) , please log onto our insta page for a step by step process story on how to make tempeh: https://www.instagram.com/marrowhealth/

Serves 2

Prep time 40 mins + time to marinade

Ingredients

250g tempeh

For the marinade

4 tbsp. tamari
3 tbsp. rice vinegar
3 tsp. maple syrup or favourite sweetener
Tbsp. sesame oil or any other oil
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. salt
Dash of cumin
Pinch salt
Pinch black pepper

For the caramelized onions

4 large onions
1 ½ tbsp. coconut sugar (coconut sugar has a caramel hint but feel free to replace with cane, maple syrup or date syrup)
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp. salt

Method

For the tempeh

Start by chopping up the tempeh into strips. Add all the marinade ingredients to an airtight container and shake it to mix the ingredients well.
Place the tempeh strips inside the container and store the mixture in a fridge for a couple of hours or overnight – this step may be skipped however this allows the tempeh to soak up the marinade and really enhance the flavour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and cook the strips for 20 minutes, turning them round half way. Alternatively, if you don’t want to feel left out, place the strips on a BBQ grill and cook them until they have turned nice and crunchy on the edges!

For the caramelized onions

Slice the raw onions in half and chop them up into thin slices. In a pan, heat a tsp of olive oil and some water, add the onions and stir them to evenly coat them.
Once they have turned a little soft (around 10 minutes) add in the salt, coconut sugar and balsamic vinegar. Reduce the heat to low and keep stirring the onions until they start turning brown. For added flavour allow the onions to stick to the pan but make sure they do not get burnt.