I wanted a great barbecue tempeh recipe, so combined some vegan and non-vegan ones I had on hand, then asked friends to taste and re-taste while adding a pinch of this and a splash of that. What you end up with is some great tasting sauce and a hearty tempeh entree!
1. Bring about an inch of water to boil. While waiting, cut each packet of tempeh in half so you have 4 patties, then steam the patties for 10 minutes.
2. While that's going, heat the oil in a saute pan and chop the onion.
3. Saute the onion on medium heat for three minutes. While that's cooking, mince the garlic and then add it to the onions. Cook for another three minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat, but don't clean the pan.
4. In a blender or food processor, blend the onion/garlic mixture with one third of a can of tomato paste (about 2 tablespoons), the apple juice, molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, coriander, 1/4 cup water.
5. Pour the sauce back into the pan and simmer over low heat for about 5 minute until it starts to thicken up.
6. Place the tempeh patties into the sauce, spoon some of the sauce on top so they're completely covered and cook for 5 minutes.
7. Flip the patties over and repeat.
Note: If your pan only has room for 1 or two patties at a time, you can keep the cooked ones in a casserole dish in a warm oven with a spoonful of sauce on top while you're cooking the other ones.
Another note: if the sauce starts to get too thick or burn on the bottom of the pan, add a splash of apple juice.
8. Spoon the remaining sauce on top of the patties and serve with something green and a nice sweet potato.