Tempeh Reuben Sandwich

A long time ago, I made a seitan Reuben sandwich that was mighty yummy (I also have a California Reuben sandwich with a killer vegan turkey meat recipe). I thought I'd change it up with tempeh this time and a marinade.

Tempeh Reuben Sandwich

Instagram Photo (User: veganmiss)

* Prep Time: up to 24 hours
* Cook Time: 20 minutes
* Ingredients (for tempeh marinade):

• 1 package (8 oz.) tempeh, cut 1/2 in. slices*
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 1/2 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 1 tsp mesquite liquid smoke
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried ground mustard
• 1/2 tsp juniper berries*
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds*
• salt and pepper, to taste

* Ingredients (for sandwich):

• vegan thousand island dressing*
• rye bread
• sauerkraut
• vegan cheese*

* Recipe:

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag. Add tempeh. Marinate for 1-2 hours up to 24 hours.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add tempeh slices (no need to add oil since it is in the marinade). Cook until golden on both sides.
3. Toast the rye bread. Place vegan cheese on bread. Melt cheese (I toasted on a skillet and the cheese melted that way). Add sliced tempeh, sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing.

* Note: The tempeh I used was Lightlife flax seed. I used juniper berries and caraway seeds in the marinade because they are used in corned beef preparations. If you don't have these items, then you could probably omit them. The vegan thousand island dressing I used was my own from a seitan Reuben sandwich recipe I posted a long time ago (Russian dressing is essentially thousand island). For vegan cheese, I used Daiya's wedge harvati. Usually Swiss cheese is used in Reuben's, but I don't know any vegan Swiss cheese. So, I went to another white cheese other than mozzarella.

Tempeh Crab Cakes

For a brunch party with some friends, I made these tempeh crab cakes. I've had tofu ones before at restaurants and made them from The Conscious Cook as well. I wanted to kind of change it up with tempeh. I admit, I don't often cook with tempeh. It's definitely something that has grown on me with time. If you have any great recipes with tempeh, send them over my way as I'd love to explore more recipes. My friend Emily blogged about our brunch over at her blog, Running On Vegan. Check it out!

Tempeh Crab Cakes

* Prep Time: 20-25 minutes
* Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1 package (8 oz.) tempeh, finely chopped*
• 1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped 
• 1/2 cup yellow and red bell peppers, finely chopped
• 1 green onion, finely chopped 
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 1 small celery stalk, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup lobster and oyster mushrooms, finely chopped*
• 5 tbsp vegan mayonnaise*
• 1/2 medium lemon, juiced
• 1/4 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce*
• 1 "egg" replacer, follow box instructions*
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning*
• 1/2 tsp dried mustard
• dash of cayenne, to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 sheet nori, toasted, crumbled*
• 1/3 cup round crackers (like Ritz), crushed
• all-purpose flour, to dust
• peanut oil, to fry

* Recipe:

1. In a very large bowl, mix the tempeh with all the vegetables. Add in the condiments and spices. Mix well.
2. Over a burner, toast a sheet of nori on each side. Crumble into the bowl. Add the crackers. Mix contents well.
3. Heat a large skillet with peanut oil over medium heat.
4. On the counter, dust with flour. Form the crab cake mixture into medium sized balls. Flatten a bit and coat the entire crab cake in flour.
5. Fry on each side until completely golden.
6. Serve with vegan tartar sauce or horseradish sauce and coleslaw.

* Note: For tempeh, I used Lightlife Organic Garden Veggie Tempeh. I used dehydrated lobster and oyster mushrooms for this (rehydrated them for the recipe), but if you could find fresh ones, that would be best. For vegan mayonnaise, I used Earth Balance Olive Oil Mayo. Auntie's Naturals Organic Vegan Worcestershire Sauce is what I used in this recipe. I used Ener-G for my egg replacement. Old Bay seasoning is a seafood spice mix that is sometimes used in things like crab cakes. You can find it in your regular grocery store with the spices. Lastly, nori is the seaweed used to make sushi rolls. You can find it with Asian and Japanese products at your grocery store. 


For vegan tartar sauce or horseradish sauce, Follow Your Heart just came out with jars of both. If you can find them, I recommend the horseradish one. I really enjoy it! I also have a lemon dill tartar sauce recipe here on Vegan Miss.The coleslaw is a recipe of mine from when I made California Reuben Sandwiches a little bit ago.

Moo Shu Tempeh

These last couple posts have been inspired by just your average weeknight meal sort of thing. It is not everyday one can make something like an Italian "Beef" Sandwich!

Moo Shu Tempeh

* Prep Time: 1 hour
* Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 5 tbsp soy sauce
• 5 tbsp sake
• 1 tsp + 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 4 oz. tempeh, sliced thin*
• 5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced thin
• 4 button mushrooms, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup green onions, sliced thin
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1/2 medium Japanese eggplant, sliced into thin strips
• 1 cup snow peas
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 1 14 oz. can chop suey vegetables*
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp sugar*
• 3-4 tbsp hoisin sauce*
• 1 cup napa cabbage, chopped

* Recipe:

1. Combine 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp sake, 1 tsp sesame oil, and 2 tsp cornstarch in a small bowl. This is the marinade for the tempeh.
2. Add tempeh to a small ziplock bag, pour in the marinade mixture, and chill in refrigerator for at least one hour.
3. Add 1 tbsp sesame oil to a medium sized frying pan. Heat on medium heat.
4. Add the mushrooms, green onions, garlic, ginger, eggplant, snow peas, bell peppers, chop suey vegetables, salt, and pepper to the pan. 
5. In a small bowl, combine 3 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp sake, 1/2 tsp cornstarch, and 1/2 tsp sugar. Add to the vegetable pan. Also add the hoisin sauce. Cook for about 10 minutes.
6. While the vegetables are cooking, in small pan add the last 1 tbsp of sesame oil to the pan. Heat on medium heat and add the marinated tempeh. Brown on each side; about 5-10 minutes.
7. In the last several minutes of cooking, add the tempeh and napa cabbage to the pan with the vegetables. Cook for a few more minutes.
8. Serve with moo shu wrappers, tortillas, or homemade moo shu pancakes.

* Note: I used Lightlife Organic Garden Veggie Tempeh. It's my favorite out there. For chop suey vegetables, I used La Choy brand. Feel free to use fresh been sprouts and some canned water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, etc. Make sure your sugar is vegan! For hoisin sauce, I used the Iron Chef brand at the store. Personally, I didn't care for it. I'm sure there are a lot of other brands out there that are better. Now I know!


To serve this, I used a really basic homemade moo shu pancake recipe I found. It wasn't amazing and I added some egg replacer to it. I would recommend trying to make a much more fancy moo shu pancake recipe. I remember how they taste and this was not doing it for me at all. In contrast, if you are feeling lazy or don't want to mess with the pancakes, just use tortillas. I couldn't find any moo shu wrappers in the store, but from Googling, they all seems to have egg in them. If it were me next time, I would just toast up some tortillas!