All this cookie excitement made me almost forget that Vegan Brunch will be out in just a few weeks! I’m going to share a few recipes with you over the next month and maybe even a video if I can get it together. I know today is Saturday but maybe you’ve got enough time to procure the ingredients in time for Sunday for one of my favorite brunch appetizers, Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes.
Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes
Makes 10
I love the succulent little pieces of tempeh you get when biting into this crisp, flavorful cake. Crab cakes are the inspiration here. I used to spend lots of time in Baltimore and back then pollution in the Chesapeake Bay was a big issue. I think it’s doing much better now and these cakes are a tribute to it. Update: Came to find the Bay is actually doing worse. All the more reason to eat tempeh instead of crabbies!
Make ahead: Make the entire mixture and the remoulade the night before. In the morning, form into cakes and pan fry.
For the cakes:
8 ounces tempeh (use the nori tempeh if you can find it, but plain soy tempeh is fine, too)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons Vegenaisse
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard (stone ground Dijon works, too)
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup very finely chopped red bell pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspooon salt
fresh black pepper
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs, plus extra for dredging
Optional: 1 finely chopped nori sheet or 1 tablespoon kelp granules (if you like a little fishiness)
Oil for pan frying
For the remoulade:
2 tablespoons Vegenaise
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard (stone ground dijon works, too)
1 tablespoon hot sauce
2 teaspoons capers (try not to get too much brine)
Lemon wedges for serving
First we’re going to steam the tempeh to get the bitterness out and also to infuse some flavor with the soy sauce. Crumble the tempeh into a saucier or small pan in little bits. Add the water, soy sauce, oil and bay leaf. The tempeh won’t be fully submerged, but that’s fine. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, let boil for 12 to 15 minutes, until most of the water has evaporated. Stir once during boiling.
Transfer contents to a mixing bowl, remove bay leaf, and mash with a fork. Let cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to hasten the cooling process. Make sure the tempeh is barely warm before you proceed, or the cakes may fall apart when you cook them. Add the mayo, mustard, hot sauce, vinegar, chopped bell pepper, spices salt and pepper, and mix well. Add the bread crumbs and nori and use your hands to incorporate.
Once you are ready to form the cakes, preheat a thin layer of oil in a heavy bottomed non-stick skillet (cast iron is great) over medium heat. Pour a few tablespoons of panko into a bowl. Scoop a little less than 1/4 cup batter into your hands and form into a ball. Flatten between your palms and then roll the sides gently with your hands cupped to smooth them. You should have ten 2 1/2 to 3- inch patties. I do them in batches of five. Press them into the panko to lightly coat. They don’t need to be thoroughly covered, just a little bit for some texture.
Fry a batch of five cakes for 4 minutes on one side and flip when dark golden brown. Fry for 2 minutes on the other side and transfer to a paper towel or paper bag to drain. Do your second batch and in the meantime make your remoulade by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl.
Serve with lemon wedges.
I’m so excited to try these! Crab cakes used to be my all time favorite back in the day.
Oh, another way to enjoy tempeh! Great! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I’m pretty sure it will become a favorite, and not only at brunch time.
I’m off the couch to go make these now.
These look spectacular. When I lived in Connecticut there was a veg restaurant in my town called It’s Only Natural, and the crab cakes so amazing that I had to force myself to try other things on the menu.
Can’t wait to try them out!
I was never a fan of crab cakes, but these, on the other hand, sound perfect! I cannot WAIT to make these! 🙂
Sounds great!
Oh, Isa, you are a genius. These are PERFECT! I love them.
http://vegandance.blogspot.com/2009/04/chesapeake-tempeh-cakes-rock-my-ever.html
Inspiring! Do you think they could be baked?
Vegan Brunch is coming up!!! Yay!!!
these might be my favorite brunch recipe!
These look so good! I used to love crab cakes when I ate them many years ago. Can’t wait to try these later! 🙂 I also can’t wait to get the Vegan Brunch Book!
Yay!!! Now I have a way to use up the tempeh in my fridge. Those look incredible.
During your experimentation did you try some Old Bay seasoning in the cakes? Just wondering since that is so traditional. Maybe your seasoning choice is a dead ringer. Maybe I’ll try it both ways bcs the cakes sure do sound good!
So looking forward to trying this recipe. Thank you! Query on a ingredient: are you familiar with a lower-fat option/sub for Veganaise? I love this stuff and could eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon, but the fat content is higher than I’d prefer. Thanks for any suggestions!
whoa! those look a lot like a tofu krab cake recipe i created about a year ago! great vegan minds think alike, i suppose!! those look fantastic! do you think tofu, seitan, or tvp could be used instead of tempeh? i love tempeh…a lot…but i know some bad vegans (jk) who aren’t so fond…
In answer to your Qs…
I wouldn’t bake them, not my style. Just use a very small amount of oil for frying, preferably from a spray bottle.
I don’t keep Old Bay on hand, but I think the ginger, red pepper and oregano have it covered.
There’s a low fat vegan mayo out there, give it a shot! I think it would be good in here. You can also use a little pureed silken tofu with a little oil.
I wouldn’t sub anything for the tempeh. Even tempeh haters will like this, I promise. Tofu or seitan won’t give the right texture.
I’ve already pre-ordered the Brunch Book – super psyched. I’m also going to pre-order your cookiebook. I’m a MDer at heart (living in VA)…my father is from the Eastern Shore and crab cakes are my FAVORITE thing ever. I’m vegan for health reasons since December 2008.
I’ve never tried tempeh before, but my cousin said she’s had it (she’s not vegan) and said it was pretty good…..I’m thinking I might test these out next weekend.
My non-vegan friend likes to do “cookoffs” with me, so I need to test these on one of the judges (my hubby!) hehehehehe!
I’m a huge fan of old bay so I’m thinking I will HAVE to use old bay just to get that authentic “crab” taste I hold near and dear.
Thanks for the recipe!!!
Ever since i saw that sexy picture of these Delectable Morsels aka Chesapeake Cakes teasingly plastered on the blog months ago, well i was hooked, (no pun intended) i have never tasted a crab or a crab cake or even been in chesapeake BUT if i didn’t love my denim collection, i could have devoured the whole batch, easily.
I had everthing on hand, like a good girl, (YAY!) but i ran out of panko (BOO!) so i dregged in crumbled corn flakes.
:Verdict: my batch yielded 15. i had 5 and my omni hubbie had 6. i served it with Sweet Potato + Kale (didn’t have watercress, which i love) 5spice hash. …. love love love love love …almost like lust in a patty? huh? yeah, that good
I’m happy that people are liking them! They really shouldn’t fall apart with all that bindy stuff in there, just make sure they are cool enough when forming the cakes.
yum…kids liked them too.
I made these tonight & they were outstanding! thank you!
I’m speechless… Isa, thank you. These are amazing, including the sauce. Quite easy too. I didn’t have capers so I just used chopped dill pickle. I’ll be making them often in the future, can’t wait to try them out on non-vegans. Thumbs way up!
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I didn’t like them, sorry. The insides were mush and I didn’t find them flavorful at all.
I made these last night and they were incredible!! I can’t wait to get the book.
Like Sarah W, I’m a native Marylander, too, and let me tell you: these are bomb. SO GOOD. I’m not even a fan of tempeh, but I could definitely eat these at least twice a week.
To those who want to put Old Bay in it: it’s not necessary. Like Isa said, the ginger, red pepper, and and oregano give it that Old Bay-esque taste.
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These turned out AMAZING. I had to make two batches of the remoulade for my omni friends because we all liked it so much.
Really it is gr8 post and too informative as well.
YES.
I just made these, and they were shockingly quick, as well as easy and delicious!
Chesapeake?! AND NO OLD BAY?! As a Baltimorian, I am horrified… but as a veg, these sound delish I will definitely try them out… but, of course, loaded in Old Bay!
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Deeeelicious.
Ridiculously easy, complexly flavored, and delicious. Loved the remoulade. Great with crunchy lettuce.
I tried this recipe and it was great. I’m sort of new at this vegan thing though, and I didn’t realize not all bread crumbs are vegan. So, you should really follow the Panko suggestion.
I just made these tonight! I made a few changes due to lack of ingredients. Instead of hot sauce I used Chipotle tabasco, and instead of fresh red pepper I used crushed red pepper flakes. They were a little crumbly, but that is because I used too much breadcrumbs on the outside, live and learn! The sauce is amazing and the cakes tasted awesome!
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These were so delicious, of course I had to blog about them!
that looks yummy!
My lord. These are absolute heaven. There is a definite satisfaction from the mouth-feel, and the taste is out of this world. I altered this recipe only slightly to accommodate my wheat allergy by processing rice crackers to use in place of panko, and it was fantastic. Well done!