Tempeh is a traditional Indonesian food made by splitting, cooking and fermenting soybeans. It has a high and easily digestible protein content, and is an energy building food. Tempeh also contains Omega 3 essential fatty acids. You should never eat tempeh raw, but you can cook it any way you would meat; steam, grill, fry, broil or bake. The combination of spices in this recipe is a delicious compliment to it’s natural mushroomlike taste.

2 8 oz packages of tempeh, each cut into thirds
1/2 cup shoyu or tamari soy sauce
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
3 slices fresh ginger
1/2 cup medium to fine ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Place the tempeh in a baking dish. In a small bowl, whisk together the shoyu or tamari soy sauce, 1/2 cup or water, the maple syrup, garlic, and ginger and pour over the tempeh. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Drain and cut the tempeh into halves or triangles.

3. In a large shallow bowl, mix together the cornmeal, red pepper flakes, thyme, oregano, cumin,and sea salt. Dip the tempeh pieces into the cornmeal mixture to coat.

4. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Cook the coated tempeh until golden brown, about a minute per side.

5. Remove from the heat and serve at once.

Candle Café Cookbook by Joy Pierson and Bart Potenza, 2003
New Whole Foods Encyclopedia by Rebecca Wood, 1999