Orange Pan-Glazed Tempeh with Broccoli

I confess. I had some processed soy and wheat today. It wasn't pretty. I came home from the barn and was craving cheesy nachos. Hmm... found some of my husbands tortillas (mission tortillas- read the ingredients. Have you noticed you have no idea what 99% of the ingredients are?) and some really old soy cheese (still hadn't expired). I sliced up the tortillas, topped with soy cheese, salt, and garlic powder and threw it under the broiler till crispy. It was tasty, until I finished the last chip. I didn't eat very much, but I had an instant reaction. My brain went fuzzy and felt suddenly nauseated. Post nacho incident, I wasn't able to eat anything, other than the 2 GT kombucha drinks to settle my stomach (my own miracle in a bottle)! As soon as I felt stable enough to go to the store, I headed over to New Seasons. I wandered through aimlessly, making several laps trying to find everything on my list, but too out of it to really get everything in order from one side of the store to the other. While wandering around the produce section, I ran across a display for a recipe that sounded intersting: Orange Pan-Glazed Tempeh. It sounded easy, delicious, and wholesome. Exactly what my queasy stomach needed! I made the usual adaptations as needed and what I came up with is exactly what the doctor ordered. The final product was slightly sweet with ginger undertones, somewhat reminiscent of a healthier version of orange chicken!

 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon safflower or other high heat oil (for a list of safe high heat oils, click here)

2 cups of fresh squeezed orange juice (I used Columbia Gorge Orange Juice w/ Tangerine Juice 

1/4 cup of grated ginger

4 tsp tamari or soy sauce (tamari is a wheat free soy sauce)

3 tbls mirin (Japanese Rice Wine Vinegar)

3 tsp Blue Agave Syrup (alternative can use maple syrup or a tablespoon of real sugar)

1 tsp ground coriander

4 garlic cloves, minced

10 oz package of tempeh (I used Organic Flax Tempeh, they also have a great 5 grain tempeh at Trader Joes, but Im not sure if it's Gluten Free if you are following a GF diet)

3-4 heads of organic broccoli 

2-3 cups of brown rice

1 teaspoon arrowroot or cornstarch (optional for a thicker sauce. I used arrowroot in mine. Usually found in spice or bulk isle.)

Optional:

juice of 1/2 lime

cilantro

chili flakes 

slivered almonds

1. Chop tempeh into 1/2 inch cubes

2. Add minced ginger to garlic press or use hands to squeeze juice from ginger into a medium sized bowl. Add orange juice, mirin, tamari (or soy), agave (or maple/sugar), crushed garlic, coriander. Stir to combine, then add chopped tempeh. Marinate for about 10 minutes while you clean and cut broccoli. 

3. Add broccoli to steamer. Lightly steam for about 8-10 minutes while preparing tempeh.

4. Heat oil in large skillet. To reduce fat in dish, I usually add a small amount of oil to pan, then use paper towel to evenly spread around pan and wipe up excess oil. Heat oil till hot, but not smoking. Use slotted spoon to drain tempeh from marinade and add to skillet. Saute for about 6-8 minutes until slightly golden. 

5. Add marinade to skillet with tempeh. Sprinkle with arrowroot (if using) and bring to light simmer under medium to low heat. Stir until sauce is slightly thickened. Remove from heat. 

6. To serve, top brown rice with broccoli and tempeh mixture and drizzle with sauce. 

Optional: Feel free to top with slivered almonds, or cilantro and a squeeze of lime.