We have been blessed with yellow plum bushes in our new garden, they have a richly balanced and aromatic sweet flavor but not as sweet as the smaller mirabelle plums. We really enjoyed this meal, and will be having it often in the future.

Braised Tempeh with Yellow Plum Chutney

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

for the tempeh:

  • 1 lb. tempeh, cut into blocks and marinated
  • 1&1/2 cups yellow or mirabelle plum jam (see below)
  • oil for braising the tempeh
  • 2-3 yellow or mirabelle plums as garnish

for the marinade:

  • 1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5 spices
  • dash Tabasco

for the chutney:

  • 1 & 1/2 cups yellow or mirabelle plum jam (recipe link below)
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • dash or 2 cayenne pepper (optional but nice)
  • pinch salt
  • depending on how sweet the jam is, you may want to add a bit of sugar

Braised Tempeh with Yellow Plum Chutney

Directions:

  1. One hour before making the meal, slice the tempeh and make the marinade.
  2. Put the marinade in a low dish and lay the tempeh in the marinade.
  3. After 15-30 minutes turn the tempeh pieces over so the other side gets soaked also.
  4. Meanwhile, make the chutney.
  5. Heat the oil in a small sauce pan.
  6. Add the chopped onions and saute until they are soft, but not browned.
  7. Add the vinegar and raisins and stir to mix.
  8. Add the plum jam, pinch of salt and cayenne if using.
  9. Stir the chutney and season to taste.
  10. Keep warm on a low heat.
  11. Heat a frying pan with oil.
  12. Add the tempeh and lightly braise each side to a light golden brown. Be careful as sometimes, if there is a lot of marinade still on the pieces, and the oil is very hot, it will spatter.
  13. Serve each slice of tempeh with some chutney on top and a few slices of yellow or mirabelle plums.
  14. We enjoyed this meal with herbed small potatoes and garlicky sauteed zucchini.

Notes:

We used the Mirabelle (Plum) Jam with vanilla and star anise recipe by Pascale Weeks. You will need to make the jam the day before.