Tempe is not a city in Florida

An Asian salad, or at least an asian inspired salad. That's what I so wanted to eat. I am really not a salad person but for this month's Don't Call Me Chef column, our challenge was to attempt  something we've never made before. Of course, the choices were endless but I settled on salads because I wanted to try to find salads I could actually like.

So I have been experimenting with all sorts of salads and had a craving for Asian flavour. So, after thinking about it for a while ... a week to be precise, I decided on an asian salad  using tempe (fermented soybeans), tofu, roasted red peppers, egg and roasted peanuts. No sauce necessary as all ingredients have been slightly cooked... only slightly.

First, roast peppers till the skin turns black. Cover with cling film once out of the oven and let the heat roast it some more. Once done, peel off black skin and slice thinly.

Marinade the tempeh. 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp maple syrup (or brown sugar if you dont have the maple syrup), 2 cloves garlic chopped finely, 1tsp rice wine vinegar (or balsamic): mix and marinade the tempeh thoroughly with for AT LEAST 30 mins. Grill till dark gold-en and slice thinly.

Cube tofu and stir fry in just a drip of butter, seasoning only with salt and pepper.

Roast nuts, lightly salted.

Blanch some bean sprouts in salted water.

Hmmm... no greens? Well, had some leftover peas, blanched or steamed.  Salt and pepper.

Assemble all ingredients and enjoy.

Click on the images below or this link for a rough step by step on making the salad.