tempeh tuna recipe

I know I have said this blog isn't about recipes but every once in a while I have a personal success that I really want to share. After all, most vegans have to prepare all their own food (or most of it) and we need to share our good recipes.

this is based on ideas I got from vegan friends early on but the sauce I mix it in is my own blend and most people seem to like it. even meat eaters!

Tempeh Tuna:

Ingredients:

1 standard package Tempeh
1tsp tamari or shoyu (soy sauce) ** omit this if you are watching your salt
diced carrot and celery, onion optional (about a 1/4 of veg total, or to taste)

1 TBS dijon mustard
2 TBS vegan mayo
2 TBS sweet pickle relish (or chopped sweet pickle) - integrate some dill pickle too if you like.
1/4 tsp each garlic and onion powder
1 tsp horseradish (optional)
2 TBS vegan sour cream
1/2 tsp ground sea vegetables (from health food store, packaged like salt) or you can finely crumble a sheet of dry Nori, which is sold for making sushi

Cut a package of tempeh into manageable chunks and boil it in hot water for about twenty minutes. Let cool. It will look paler and slightly plumped out when it's done. You may want to run it under cold water in a sieve to speed the cooling process. I'm usually impatient when I make this but maybe that's just me. ;)

When it is cool enough, get your mixing bowl out and start squeezing the excess water out of the pieces of tempeh with your hands. it will crumble as you do this, which is good. you want the tempeh crumbled up in the bowl so it is just loose flakes (slightly resembling, you guessed it, canned tuna).

Add about 1 tsp tamari or shoyu to the tempeh and toss. (tamari is wheat free, shoyu has wheat. that's the only real difference. they're soy sauce). ** this is easily omitted if you are watching your salt/sodium. It's not crucial.

-- make sure the tamari is quite cool before you mix the other ingredients in because you don't want the mayo, etc. to get all runny.

add the chopped veg and toss.

Now for the sauce. You can just add all the other ingredients right onto the tempeh if you like, or I often prefer to mix the sauce in a seperate bowl so I can blend it better. However you do it, the sauce is the mayo, sour cream, relish, horseradish (optional but I love it), onion and garlic powder, mustard, and sea veggies. Omit the sea veggies if you never really liked seafood but they are really good for you so it would be awesome to try to sneak them in. The taste of them is not overpowering.

Chill and serve. It may get a bit runny over time but remixing it should take care of that. It's good in the fridge for three or four days.

** so, I made this recipe according to my own tastes. if you have a old tuna recipe you swore by, use it with the tempeh and vegan correspondences accordingly. tweak the ingredients to your taste once you've tried it. enjoy!