Spicy Potato and Tempeh Stir Fry

Honestly I am not a big fan of Tempeh.  I have never eaten it till today. I dislike the pungent smell that the tempeh gives but this has all changed when recently I got a box of tempeh from the Whole Foods.  Man oh man, you cannot imagine what people do with regular tempeh.  Lemon Pepper, Sweet Sour, Spicy Buffalo...so I went ahead and got the regular one.

Anyways, I made a spicy stir fry tempeh with potatoes with an addition of another popular bean "Petai".  This bean has a very unique stinky smell even after you cook them. Tempeh, potatoes and petai are deep fried till golden and crunchy. Prepare the chili paste, as vibrantly and spicy as you can possibly handle. Stir-fry the paste using some oil, add sugar and cook till the paste turns brown and fragrant. Toss in the tempeh chips and coat them all with the chili paste. Yup, that sounds about right.

This is how the beans look like before you take it off the skin

Ingredients

200 g tempeh, cut into small and thin slices
3 / 500 g potatoes, cut into small and thin slices
25 g sataw beans, or petai
30 g red chilies
3 shallots
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt
1 lemongrass, cut into half
50 g palm sugar, or brown sugar
1 tsp / 5 g tamarind pulp
2 cups water
2 tbsp sweetsoy sauc, optional
1/4 cup cooking oil, for stir-frying
Cooking oil for deep frying tempeh and potatoes

Note:  If you do not want to get into the hassle of grinding or pounding the chilli, you can use the Sambal Oelek which can be purchased the local grocery store. Just add shallot and garlic to the oil before adding the sambal.

Method

• Dilute brown sugar and tamarind pulp in water. Set aside for later use.
• Deep fry potato slices and tempeh chips till golden and crunchy.
• Grind chilies, garlic, shallots and salt in a mortar and pestle to fine paste.
• Heat cooking oil in a wok and stir-fry stinky beans over medium heat for 30 seconds of less.
• Add chili paste, salam leaves and lemongrass into the wok. Stir-fry till the chili paste turns slightly darker, about one minute.
• Pour sugar and tamarind mixture into the wok. Add kecap manis. Simmer for 2 minutes, keep stirring.
• Add tempeh and potato chips into the wok. Stir well.
• Serve with warm rice.

Petai

Tempeh

Potato

Stir fry all the pounded ingredients

Add the fried petai, potato and tempeh.