During week number Nine, I was the chef of the week. The item we had on our  menu was Tempeh, which was used in each one of the five dishes we made that night in vegetarian class.

The question is “What is tempeh?” It is a soy product which originates from Indonesia. Tempeh contains high levels of calcium and potassium. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. This provides the dishes with an unique texture, however the tempeh must be marinated to absorb more flavor.

The tempeh itself does not have much flavor but light nuttiness. This week every group was responsible to incorporate tempeh in all the different styles of preparation. The outcomes were fantastic because of the presentation and the great flavors tempeh had acquired after the marination process . In my opinion, the tempeh texture was very similar to chicken meat. Since this was a vegetarian dish, we did not use any meat products in our dishes. Most importantly, the dishes still taste delicious and full of nutrition value.

Group#1: Glazed maple tempeh strips with sauteed kale and corn and Sweet potato mash. The sweetness from the maple syrup has helped the tempeh with glossy appearance and meaty texture. The sauteed kale and corn has refreshing flavor as the side.

Group#2: Tempeh with mole ,squash mousse and green beans with shallots. The green beans has great crunchy texture with creamy squash mousse next to the tempeh, which has balance very well.

Group#3: Tempeh with coconut curry and basmati and Slaw. This dish was like a super summer happy color dish, which contains so much flavors and vibrant colors.The coconut and the curry was creamy and on point.

 

Group#4: Stuffed poblano with sauce and Swiss chard. The poblano pepper doesnt have strong spicy flavor and perfect shape to stuffed the tempeh. The plating was very elegant with just green, orange and tempeh color.

Group#5: Tempeh scallopini with red pot and asparagus. The temeph scallopini was delicious because it was first marinated then pan fried and then coated with the reduced sauce. Far distance, the dish looks like BBQ spare ribs. On the plate itself, has three different texture food, the crunchy asparagus and  saffron risotto.

The class had done great job with different recipes to have the amazing outcomes. At the end of the class, we enjoyed the meal we have prepared. Things we have added extra or reduce during the process.  Plating has definitely played an important role in cooking because a beautifully plated dish was more interesting to the eye.  Often time, we chose what stands out to our eye.

As conclusion, Art of vegetarian cooking not only provides healthier food and can be delious too.

Thanks to Chef.Hoffman and my amazing teammates!

-H