Ingredients
| 12 cherry tomatoes, quartered | |
| 2 cloves garlic, peeled | |
| ¼ teaspoon salt | |
| ¼ cup roasted peanuts plus extra to serve | |
| 2-3 chillies, chopped (discard seeds for less heat) | |
| 2 tablespoons lime juice | |
| 2 tablespoons fish or soy sauce | |
| 3 tablespoons honey plus 2 teaspoons extra | |
| 2 large carrots, shredded | |
| ½ long cucumber, discard seeds then shred | |
| ½ cup Thai basil leaves or coriander | |
| 2 tablespoons peanut oil | |
| 500g tempeh, sliced into 1cm batons | |
| 1 tablespoon fermented chilli-bean paste such as Toban Djan | |
| 1 tablespoon rice vinegar | |
| 2 tablespoons soy sauce | |
| sticky or jasmine rice, to serve |
I like to use a liquid honey in this Thai-inspired dish, and if you have one with coconut notes – such as the delicate caramel Niue Honey – it’s perfect and holds up well to the hot chilli. I like the salad to be quite hot, and as chilli heat varies I taste as I add the chillies; you can always add more sliced chillies to the finished salad or a squeeze of sriracha. Pan-fried tempeh is perfect for the dark and sticky glaze, but if you prefer a softer tempeh you could steam it for 15 minutes then toss very gently with the sauce.
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Instructions
| 1. | Put the cherry tomatoes in a large serving bowl and crush with a fork. |
| 2. | Put the garlic, salt, peanuts and chillies in a mortar and pestle or small food processor and crush to a rough paste. |
| 3. | Transfer to the serving bowl and stir in the lime juice, fish or soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of honey. |
| 4. | Add the carrot and cucumber on top, then the Thai basil or coriander, but don’t toss yet. Set aside. |
| 5. | Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the tempeh for about 4 minutes, turning until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and set aside. |
| 6. | Take the pan off the heat and add the chilli-bean paste, the rest of the honey, vinegar and soy sauce, put back over the heat and bring to bubbling, stirring constantly for 5 minutes until dark and thick. |
| 7. | Add the tempeh, gently toss through to coat and leave for a couple of minutes. |
| 8. | Toss the salad well. Serve the salad topped with the tempeh and scattered with extra peanuts. |
| 9. | Serve sticky or jasmine rice on the side. |
Recipes & food styling Fiona Smith / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Fiona Lascelles