Tempeh Salad
I abused my stomach for Indonesian food in Amsterdam. Sounds a bit random. But the "indisch" (colonial Indonesian) cuisine and catering in the Netherlands has been boosted by a major immigration wave from Indonesia after WWII.
There are many interesting Indonesian food materials to explore. But born with an appetite for soy and soy products, I started with Tempeh, a fermented soy product from Indonesia.
This recipe was good for a simple but filling dinner after a 30-minutes walk back home in the rain.
Materials: tempeh, potato, onion, grounded dry laurel leaves (or any other spices you like), garlic slices, olive oil.
Steps:
1. Boil the tempeh for 5 minutes, and let it cool down. (Similar to some Tofu varieties, tempeh plates are usually sold ready-to-eat. But I have the habit of boiling firm soy products for several minutes before using them in cooking.)2. Boil the potato until it's ready, and let it cool down.
3. Cut the tempeh plate, potato, and onion into pieces, and mix in a bowl.
4. In a pot or pan, warm up the olive oil using medium power, stir in the garlic and the grounded laurel leaves, wait until you can smell the flavor of the spices (sorry for being sketchy but you get the idea).
5. Mix the mixture from 3 with the flavored olive oil, and add salt/pepper if needed. Now it's ready to serve.