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Bean Tempe Orek

Bean Tempe Orek (Stir-Fried Sweet and Spicy Tempeh with Beans)

5 from 1 vote
This Bean Tempe Orek is the perfect combination of savory, sweet and spicy flavors. Originating from Indonesia, this vibrant and traditionally vegan dish features crispy tempeh and tender green beans in a fragrant tamarind and kecap manis sauce, making it a delicious and protein-packed meal.
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Prep Time40 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Servings4

Ingredients 
 

  • 30 g seedless tamarind (or 30g tamarind paste dissolved in 70ml water water)
  • 400 g tempeh
  • 5 tbsp groundnut oil
  • 4 round shallots (80g)
  • 4 large garlic cloves
  • 8 red bird’s eye chillies
  • 300 g green beans
  • 1 stick lemongrass
  • 2 makrut lime leaves
  • 1 tsp salt (7g)
  • 4 tbsp kecap manis (60g)
  • 1/2 tbsp palm sugar (15g), or brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions 

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 220 °C (428 °F) (200 °C (392 °F) fan) and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Instead of roasting, you can also deep-fry the tempeh, which is the traditional way. If serving this with rice, start cooking it now.
  2. If using seedless tamarind, soak it in 100ml boiling water for 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, use your fingers to loosen the flesh from the fibrous strings. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a small bowl and discard the pulp.
  3. Cut the tempeh into 1cm-wide pieces, add to a bowl with 2 tablespoons of the oil and toss to mix. Then spread them out on the baking tray and roast for 15 minutes or until golden.
  4. Meanwhile, peel, half and thinly slice the shallots; peel and thinly slice the garlic; trim the chillies; trim and cut the beans into 4 cm pieces; bruise the lemongrass with a rolling pin to open the fibres.
  5. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, then sauté the shallots, garlic, chillies and lime leaves until the garlic begins to turn golden (1-2 minutes). Add the green beans, lemongrass and salt, reduce the heat and continue sautéing for a minute, then add around 50ml of water to break the frying and steam the beans. Cook until the water has evaporated (1-2 minutes), then add the tamarind water (or dissolved paste), kecap manis, palm sugar and black pepper and continue cooking until the sugar has melted and the sauce begins to bubble all over. Add the tempeh and stir until everything is evenly glazed.
  6. Discard the lemongrass and lime leaves, then divide everything between plates and serve as a side or alongside rice as a main.

Video

Notes

Storage: Refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.