Friday, April 6, 2018
6/ The Woman in the Asian Market
The owner of the little Asian grocery sets aside tofu for me because I don't want to remove it from the communal bucket of water with my hand. She's always incredulous that someone who looks like me eats tempeh. "You like tempeh??" she asks every single time. Then, "How you cook it?" I learned to tell her I season it with garlic powder—not because I do, but because it makes her happy.
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This works for last month and this month.
ReplyDeleteLOL You're right!
DeletePlease tell me where your market is. I drive all the way to Allentown where I've found a good one, so maybe yours is closer!
ReplyDeleteKim, it's in Scranton, in a residential neighborhood on the corner of Monroe and Ash. I think the name is F&F Oriental. Google Maps calls it a restaurant, but it's not. It's small, but I'm told Scranton has others. One is called Laos, I think, and then there are two Indian stores. I keep meaning to seek them out.
DeleteWhat's the name of the one in Allentown? Allentown is 2 hours from me and I dislike that particular drive, but I anticipate more visits to the Allentown doctor, and I might make a side trip.
DeleteThe Far East Grocery Market, actually in Whitehall but that feels like Allentown to me. It's a very good Thai-run store, about a block off of route 22 (Fullerton exit, I think). I'll need to look for the Scranton stores, though, because they would be closer to me as well.
DeleteNow I really want to know how to cook it, too, and I'm wised up, so don't try to fob me off with the garlic powder story.
ReplyDelete(I got this type of question at an Asian market about two weeks ago, when I bought a huge sack of glutinous rice.)
PS. We have Food month coming up, so I could wait until then.
DeleteI never got as creative with tempeh (which we made when we had the tofu business) as I did with tofu. Over the years I made various things with it, but settled into slicing it no more than a half-inch thick (1 cm would be perfect) and cooking it in a little olive oil in an iron frying pan until both sides are medium brown. My kids loved it served with BBQ sauce, but these days I sprinkle a little salt or (more likely) soy sauce, cut it into little cubes like croutons, and add it to my salad. (My dinner is a big salad most nights.) I think some people soak it in salt water first to get it salted throughout, but I don't need that much salt.
DeleteIf you Google how to cook tempeh you'll get lots of suggestions. Or you could season it with garlic powder. LOL
I am not a fan of tofu, but I think it might be growing on me. I've never attempted to make tempheh.
ReplyDeleteTofu and tempeh are quite different. Tempeh is fermented, and therefore promoted by those who say we should be eating fermented foods regularly. Tofu takes on the flavor of whatever it's cooked/seasoned with, so if you don't like it you could try making something different with it next time.
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