Recipe: Tempeh La La

TEMPEH LA LA

copycat recipe - Asian Rose Sri Lankan Restaurant, Santa Cruz, California

1 cup canola oil for frying
1 (8 oz) package tempeh (I like the multigrain kind)
1 medium red onion, halved, then sliced into very thin half moons
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp chili paste (I use sambal badjak, which has onions added, but you can use regular sambal oelek, or a small red chili, seeded and finely chopped)
1 tsp tamarind paste, dissolved in 1 cup water
2 quarter-inch rounds galangal root, bruised
3 (two-inch) pieces of lemongrass stalk and bulb, bruised
1/2 cup brown sugar
Hot cooked rice (for serving)

Heat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Slice tempeh into small pieces, about 1/2-inch long, 1/4-inch wide, 1/4-inch tall. Place the tempeh on a baking sheet and leave in the oven for 45 minutes, until dried out a bit. This will improve the crunchy texture. You can prepare your brown rice while the tempeh hangs out in the oven.

In a 10-inch skillet (I used a cast iron one), heat the canola oil to about 375 degrees. With a slotted spoon, place the tempeh in the oil and fry about three minutes, until golden brown. Remove the tempeh to a paper towel-lined plate.

Then fry the onion slices until brown, about five minutes, and drain.

Finally, fry the garlic slices, and take them out almost instantly, because those will burn quick!

Let all these items sit on the plate while you turn off the heat, let the pan cool until the oil is cool enough to pour into a jar (for later use or disposal), then pour out all the oil except 2 tablespoons.

Over low heat, add the chili paste, tamarind paste dissolved in water, galangal, lemongrass, and brown sugar to the skillet. Raise heat to medium-high, and reduce the sauce until it's about 1/2 the volume you started with, and has taken on a slightly syrupy consistency. This will take about ten minutes.

Pick out the lemongrass stalks and galangal pieces, then stir in the tempeh, onions, and garlic, mixing to coat evenly. Serve over rice.

Makes 2 servings