Every family has its own way to survive, especially in terms of food. Also, influenced by the culture of the family tribe.
When I was little, my family lived in financial difficulties because my late parents focused on paying for our school. We eat from potluck ingredients that we get from nature or we buy them at cheap prices.
Tempeh is one of them. In the past, it was also wrapped in banana leaves like now. However, nowadays there is a plastic version of packaging for tempeh. I prefer tempeh wrapped in banana leaves.
Tempeh we can get at a cheap price. Starting from $0.15. Then, we make use of whatever simple seasoning we can get our hands on. Seasonings are like red chili, green chili, red onion, and garlic. Tempeh with simple seasoning served with warm rice. It is heavenly and yummy for me.
From those things, we can survive to meet the needs of daily meals. We don't feel bored because with that we can actually survive. The most important thing is that the taste of the food is delicious and not disgusting at all.
Well, it wasn't just my childhood. I also often apply this trick in the present when I already have a husband. I often cook with this simple seasoning to serve with warm rice.
Just like this time I will share about the Spicy Tempeh With Eggplants recipe. I use purple eggplant because purple eggplant is also easy to get in my village. Many people grow purple eggplants here. Just like in my childhood.
This side dish menu is perfect for eating with warm rice. Filling with good taste, suit our family. For the record, there are still many people out there, especially in my country, people who think tempeh is food for the poor. In fact, tempeh is rich in protein. So, I'm not ashamed at all that I still consume tempeh for my daily meals. Stay tuned for the full recipe!
The Ingredients
- 1 pack of tempeh (about 200-250 grams)
- 1 eggplant
- one handful of red chili
- 5 cloves of small red onions
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 10 red cherry tomatoes
- 2 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
- 1/4 cup of cooking oil (olive oil is better)
If you don't want it spicy, you can replace red chili with red bell pepper. It will not reduce the delicacy of taste. The most important thing is to use oil for all seasoning stir-fry to create a savory and fragrant taste in tempeh and eggplants. Also, we have to fry the tempeh and eggplant first to maintain the delicious taste. If you don't fry them, then the smokey effect from deep-fry will disappear and won't create the maximum delicious taste.
Cooking Instructions
I diced the tempeh. The shape of the dice will make it easier for the tempeh to cook evenly and prevent the tempeh from being crushed.
Slice eggplant but not thin. Then, soak them in the salt water for about 15 minutes. This is to prevent the eggplant from becoming bitter. In addition, avoid using eggplants that are too large because large eggplants have large seeds which cause a bitter taste.
I slice red onion and garlic. For red chili, I use a sharp pair of scissors to chop the red chili. This can save my energy.
For the cherry tomatoes, only two of them. But you can forego splitting the tomatoes and leaving them intact while cooking them later.
Heat cooking oil. Then, fry tempeh until golden brown. Also, fry slices of eggplants.
Fry for about 3 minutes to prevent them from falling apart if they are fried too long. Then drain them and set them aside.
Finish by frying the tempeh and eggplants, heat the cooking oil then stir-fry the red onion, garlic, red chili, kaffir lime leaves. After it becomes fragrant, then add the red chili.
The final step, add fried tempeh & eggplant, and cherry tomatoes. Also, salt and sugar. Keep stirring but in a gentle motion so that everything doesn't get messy. Also, avoid the fried eggplants getting crushed. Cook for about 2-3 minutes.
SERVING
Serve with warm rice. Oooooh, I'm getting hungry again while writing about this recipe! Even though it looks simple, the seasoning made from this oil is rich in taste to eat only with even warm rice. I've proven that since childhood.
The interesting thing is that I used a lot of other ingredients besides tempeh for this cooking method. For example for tofu, peas, mushrooms and more. So, what do you think about this recipe?
Thank you for reading my blog and reblog if you want my blog this time worthy of reading by others.
Best Regards,
Anggrek Lestari
Anggrek Lestari is an Indonesian fiction writer who has published two major books. Now She is a full-time content creator. She has a goal to share life, poem, and food content that makes others happy and can get inspiration.
Contact Person: authoranggreklestari@gmail.com
Discord: anggreklestari#3009
