Getting satay at Asian restaurants was one of my favorite things when I was a kid. It was always so delicious and exciting. Grilled chicken and the best peanut sauce. I made a grill free friendly vegan version and I can die happy now. This vegan tempeh satay is marinated, dry rubbed, and baked on a rack to mimic grilling. Then tossed in the simplest, yummiest vegan peanut sauce. Serve over coconut rice drizzled with more peanut sauce and it is absolutely perfect.
So, I know, I know, this is essentially a three step meal. However, all the steps are super simple and can be done simultaneously. Bake tempeh, cook rice, whisk sauce, done. It is harder to impart flavor into tempeh than it is tofu or other vegan proteins. The process I always use is to steam the tempeh for about 15 minutes, then marinate, then proceed to cook it however you want. Steaming the tempeh takes any bitterness out of it, and makes it absorb marinade more easily.
As for the rice, oh, the glorious coconut rice. Cooking rice in water and coconut milk with a pinch of sugar and salt makes the greatest rice of all time. Coconutty, a little sweet and perfectly seasoned. It is amazing all on its own, but paired with some vegan tempeh satay and holy cow!
This simple and incredible meal uses mostly ingredients you probably having sitting in the house. With just some limes and cilantro (if you want) as the only fresh ingredients, this is easy to throw together. The texture of the pseudo grilled tempeh with the peanut sauce and coconut rice are all together one of the best things I have ever eaten. I get asked a lot how people should cook tempeh, or what my favorite tempeh recipe is, and now I can definitely add this to the list.
Vegan Tempeh Satay
Ingredients
For The Tempeh
- 16 Ounces(usually 2 blocks) Tempeh, cut into triangles
- 1 Cup Vegetable broth
- 2 Tablespoons Soy sauce or Tamari for GF option
- 1 Tablespoon Rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Ginger powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Coconut Rice
- 2 Cups Jasmine rice
- 1 Can(14oz.) Coconut cream or full fat coconut milk
- 1 1/2 Cups Water
- 1 Tablespoon Organic cane sugar
- 2 teaspoon Salt
Peanut Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Lime juice
- 1 Tablespoon Rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Soy sauce or Tamari for GF option
- 2 Tablespoons Agave syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon Chili sauce, I used Asian Chili Garlic sauce
- 1/2 Cup Peanut butter, organic or regular
- 1/4 Cup Water + more to thin to desired consistency
Instructions
- Start by steaming your tempeh. Once you have cut it into pieces, either place in a steam basket, add a bit of water to the bottom of a pot, place the basket in the pot, cover and steam on the stove on medium low heat for 15 minutes. If you don't have a steam basket, just add a bit of water to a sauce pan, heat and add the tempeh to the pan. Cover and steam for 15 minutes.
- Once you have steamed the tempeh, place the tempeh in a heat proof bowl. Pour the broth, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and olive oil over the tempeh. Toss, make sure the tempeh is covered by the marinade and marinate for at least an hour, but the longer the better.
- When ready to make the tempeh, preheat the oven to 400 degrees(F).
- Then drain the marinade out of the bowl, but leave the tempeh in it. Next, sprinkle the tempeh with the garlic powder, onion powder, ginger and salt. Toss to coat all the tempeh in the spices.
- Place an oven safe rack, like a cooling rack on to a baking sheet and spray it with non-stick spray. Then place the tempeh on the rack and bake for 15 minutes, then flip and bake another 10-15 minutes or until the tempeh is nice and brown.
- While the tempeh is baking, make the coconut rice. Add the rice, coconut milk, water, sugar and salt to a small sauce pan. Heat on medium high, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is cooked through. When done, fluff with a fork.
- Next, make the peanut sauce, in a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the lime juice, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, agave and chili sauce. Then add the peanut butter and begin to whisk , adding water as needed. Add extra water if needed to thin out and make the sauce completely smooth.
- Once the tempeh and rice are done, put the tempeh in a bowl and add about 1/2 the peanut sauce. Toss to coat all the tempeh in the sauce.
- Serve with coconut rice in a bowl, with tempeh on top, drizzle with more sauce, top with cilantro and sesame seeds if desired.
I made this yesterday and it was so good! I’ve never successfully cooked tempeh well before, but the steaming then baking really softened it up inside then crisped up the outside. So far every recipe of yours that I’ve tried has come out great.
Love this recipe ! Steaming + marinating the tempeh gives it such a great texture . The peanut is delicious . I will make this again
This is a winner, I keep coming back to this recipe time and time again.
Half the time when I cook tempeh it still keeps the strong fermented taste, which everyone is not a fan of. However, this is not the case for this recipe as I believe the steaming helps considerably and the marinade + sauce are super delicious.
Made this recipe 5 times and it is a favorite and amazing!!!! Eat it with a salad and it is the perfect meal!’
Absolutely delicious. The coconut jasmine rice alone is a winner. Thank you for this one!
Once again, another amazing tempeh recipe! The flavor and texture is even better than already prepared store bought tempeh and I will be making this coconut rice for the rest of my life! Another delicious meal!!!
Loved this the first time I made it!
Today I needed a good sauce for some tofu so I used this peanut sauce recipe, and it was JUST as good the second time around.