Sesame Garlic Noodles with Broccoli, Basil & Crispy Tempeh
Sesame garlic noodles are an easy, delicious vegan main. Ready in 25 minutes! Saucy noodles, fresh vegetables, and crispy tempeh for protein.
Servings 4 -6
Ingredients
Sesame Garlic Sauce Ingredients
- ¼ cup gluten-free tamari soy sauce
- 2 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus extra
- 1 ½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil (I used a hot-toasted one with chilies)
- 1 clove garlic, finely grated with a Microplane grater
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, plus extra for garnish
Noodles, Tempeh Etc.
- ¾ lb noodles of choice
- 4 cups small broccoli florets (from roughly 1 bunch of broccoli)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 8 oz (227) grams tempeh, sliced ½ inch thick
- handful of Thai basil leaves, sliced (or regular basil if you have it!)
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the Tamari, maple syrup, lime juice, sesame oil, garlic, and sesame seeds. Set aside.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the noodles. Cook the noodles according to package directions, dropping the broccoli florets into the pot when there’s 3 minutes left. Drain the noodles and broccoli.
- While the noodles and broccoli are cooking, heat the coconut oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Place the tempeh slices in the pan in a single layer. Let the first side brown thoroughly. Flip the slices over and let the other side brown. Season the tempeh with salt and pepper and finish with a squeeze of lime juice.
- In a large bowl, toss the noodles, broccoli, tempeh, Thai basil, green onions, and sesame garlic sauce together until everything is evenly mixed. Garnish the sesame garlic noodles with some extra sesame seeds and serve!
Notes
- Use any noodles you like for this. I went with a simple spelt-base noodle that I had on hand, but you could also do buckwheat soba, edamame/mung bean fettuccine, brown rice noodles… spiralized raw zucchini even! If you go for traditional cooked/grain-based noodles, just be mindful of the cook time on the package, and drop the broccoli in when there’s about 3 minutes left with the cooking time.
- A note on the tempeh too: generally I think tempeh is best when it’s first steamed and then seared/roasted. If you’re open to frying the tempeh in a decent amount of oil (as I describe in this recipe), you can skip the steaming and go straight to browning.