Chinese style tempeh with cashews

If you're on the lookout for easy vegan Chinese recipes you have to try this cashew tempeh in a sweet sticky sauce. This is one of my favourite vegan Chinese fakeaway recipes!

I love authentic Chinese food however like many people I am partial to a good Chinese takeaway as a treat once in a while. It fascinates me how British Chinese cuisine and American Chinese cuisine seems to differ greatly and I love the sound of the American Chinese food that we can’t get here in the UK so I like to create my own versions at home. This will have to do until I manage to plan a trip to America! If the food is anything like the versions I create for myself I’m sure I will love it!

This is a plant based take on the Chinese takeaway cashew chicken that I hear of in American Chinese cuisine. Tempeh works really well as the meat replacement in this and the sticky sweet sauce brings it all together. Serve this with rice and stir fried veg and you wont need to order takeaway on a Saturday night!

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Ingredients and substitutes for this tempeh recipe-

· Tempeh- Tempeh is an incredibly versatile protein that is also very nutritious. It is made of fermented soy beans and has a slightly nutty flavour. You should be able to find tempeh in your local supermarket or an Asian supermarket. I recommend using it in place of tofu in your favourite recipes. This recipe however can be made with tofu or a vegan meat substitute. I use the Plant power tempeh brand in the UK.

· Cashew nuts- The soft texture of cashew nuts makes them work really well in this dish to give it another level of texture. Make sure you but unsalted raw cashews for this dish.

· Shaoxing rice wine- This ingredient can often be hard to find in supermarkets. I have seen in in M&S in the UK. However you can also buy online or use regular rice wine that is easily accessible in most supermarkets.

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Top Tips to get the most out of your tempeh dish

Tempeh

Tofu is often the star of the show in vegan Chinese takeaway dishes however I feel that tempeh is very much overlooked as many people are not as familiar with using it. However it is just as versatile as tofu and when cooked properly can be so delicious! It also has more protein than tofu which is great if you struggle to get protein in.

Chinese ingredients

I get most of my Chinese ingredients from the Asian supermarket I find that they have the best value and the most authentic ingredients so you can really achieve flavours as close to your local takeaway as possible! If you struggle to get the ingredients locally most of the good brands are also available online. I have linked the exact brands I buy in the ‘ingredients’ section of this recipe.**

And now for the recipe!

Chinese takeaway style cashew tempeh

​Serves- 2 Time- 20 minutes

Ingredients-

• 200g Tempeh block (I use Plant power brand)

• 2 Tbsp cornflour

• 2 Tbsp water

• ½ A red bell pepper

• ½ Onion

• 30g Cashew nuts

• Sesame seeds & spring onion to garnish

For the sauce-

• 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce

• 1 Tbsp Shaoxing rice wine

• 1 Tbsp hoisin sauce

• 1 Tbsp Garlic ginger paste

• ½ Tsp white pepper

• 1 Tbsp sesame oil

Method-

1. Chop the tempeh into even sized cubes, place into a Tupperware with a lid and sprinkle on 1 Tbsp of the cornflour. Firmly pop the lid back on and shake until all of the tempeh is coated.

2. Fry the tempeh in oil until golden on all sides and set aside for later.

3. Chop up the onion and bell pepper into similar size cubes and fry both until soft.

4. Add back in the tempeh and the cashews and heat through. Turn off the heat whilst making the sauce.

5. Now to make the sauce mix. Firstly make a cornflour slurry by mixing 1 Tbsp cornflour with 2 Tbsp of water until combined. Next add the dark soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, hoisin sauce, garlic ginger, white pepper and sesame oil to the cornflour slurry and mix until combined.

6. Turn the heat back on and pour the sauce into the tempeh, pepper, onion and cashew mix and cook until the sauce turns sticky.

7. Serve with some rice and top with sesame seeds & chopped spring onion.

8. Enjoy!

FAQ-

· Can I make this nut free?- Feel free to omit the cashew nuts in this recipe it will work just as well without.

· I don’t have all of the sauce ingredients will it still work?- The essentials for this sauce are soy sauce, sugar, garlic and ginger and white pepper. You may substitute the hoisin for brown sugar, the dark soy sauce for light soy sauce an omit the Shaoxing rice wine or just use regular rice wine.

Why not try these other delicious recipes?

• Creamy pumpkin risotto

• Mexican inspired tempeh
  

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