Monday, March 14, 2011

Cilantro Cabbage slaw in Tempeh Tacos

Cabbage is a must in many taco recipes. My most strong association with cabbage and tacos is in fish tacos... But nevermind that, alternatives like tofu, seitan, soy curls and tempeh lend themselves well to the flavors of a taco! A photo:
This meal started a lot like all of my other meals: What do I have on hand? Green cabbage, cilantro, yellow onion, lime, corn tortillas, tempeh and a BUNCH of spices. I don't know about you, but, this sounds like tacos centered around a cilantro cabbage slaw.

For the tempeh (this flavor is not as important as the slaw. The slaw is a star of these tacos.):
~4 oz. tempeh crumbled
juice of 1/2 of a lime
spice to taste with: salt, pepper, cumin, nutritional yeast, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, etc.
veggie oil to coat (so the spices stick and so the tempeh doesn't stick to the pan.)

Crumble tempeh into a bowl and let marinate, mixed with spices, for an hour or so.
For the slaw:
~2 Cups finely sliced green cabbage
~1/8 Cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/8- 1/4 Cup thinly sliced yellow onion
1 Tbsp canola oil
juice of 1/2 of a lime
dash of cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare all these things in a bowl and let sit in the fridge for a bit. 30 minutes will do, but a couple hours is best. For example, I went to a movie and came back to perfectly marinated slaw and tempeh!
Brown the tempeh in a pan or skillet. Soften and heat the corn tortillas by slowly heating them in a pan on the stove until they can bend without breaking. Sometimes heating them with a sprinkling of water and a lid is helpful. Leave the slaw cold; the crispness of the slaw is refreshing and the flavors are more pronounced when they are raw.

My only regret with these was that I didn't make enough!

3 comments:

CP said...

Please recreate these with me!!

Alan said...

Count me in too... the tempeh looks like fish from an Ensenada taco stand. $1!!

Alan in Kenya

Randi said...

Casey, yes! Anytime, they are so fast and easy.

Alan, that is exactly what I was thinking. I bet you can make something similar too!