Pineapple Tempeh Stir Fry

Does anyone ever get in the mood for green beans?

Me neither.

I mean, they're fine and everything, but I'd rather have broccoli. Or zucchini. Or eggplant. They're just not my first choice. I don't grow them in the garden, but we always have an abundant supply from family every year. The in-laws, my parents, and my grandparents all grow them and we end up with just the right amount. 

I run out of ways to cook them, and I have to keep things interesting or we get sick of them. We've roasted, grilled, steamed, stir-fried and made soup out of our green beans, but we needed a fresh taste to them.

They were delicious! Paired with the chewy tempeh and the sweet pineapple glaze, we greatly enjoyed what will probably be our last batch of green beans for the season. 

First, I made the marinade. I got the idea from the Orange Pan-glazed Tempeh on 101cookbooks.com. I made a lot of changes, the biggest of which was using pineapple juice instead of orange juice. 

Tempeh is a very nutritious protein source. 20g of protein per serving! The ingredients are also all recognizable, which is something I look for on a package. It has a slightly nutty taste and a chewy texture that we really like. 

Slice the tempeh block in half to make the pieces thinner. I cut it into 16 triangles, just to be fancy!

Pour the sauce over it and let it marinade for about half an hour. We went to the grocery store during that time, so it was probably a little longer, but I'd recommend at least 30 minutes for full flavor.

Remove the tempeh from the sauce and cook it up.

These are the green beans in their ice bath. I briefly steamed them and then dumped them in cold water to stop the cooking. 

Once the tempeh is done, use the same pan to crisp up the green beans. I like to get little brown bubbles on the sides of them from being against the hot pan.

Pour on the sauce. Please ignore my weird duck hand in this pic.

Add the tempeh and bring the sauce to a boil. Mmmmm! It smelled so good!

Pineapple Tempeh Stir Fry

Inspired by 101Cookbooks.com

Serves 2

1 8 oz. pkg. tempeh (any variety, I used Flax)

1 c pineapple juice

1/2 T minced garlic

1 T minced ginger

1 T tamari (or soy sauce)

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2-1 lb. fresh green beans, cleaned

Whisk together pineapple juice, garlic, ginger, tamari, and crushed red pepper. Slice tempeh into 1/4" thick pieces of your desired size. Lay in a single layer in a shallow dish. Pour sauce over tempeh and let marinade for 30 minutes. In the meantime, clean green beans and steam lightly. Submerge immediately into an ice water bath to stop the cooking. Remove tempeh from sauce, reserving sauce for later. In a hot skillet, cook tempeh until it begins to crisp, about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove tempeh from pan and set aside. Using the same skillet, cook green beans until they are heated through and the sides are slightly browned from the pan. Add tempeh and sauce and bring to a boil. Cook until sauce reduces by half, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately, drizzling any sauce left in pan over beans and tempeh.