Tempeh Stuffed Yellow Chile Peppers

Inspired by the dim sum dishes of steamed, little savory morsels of goodness, I’ve been working on this recipe to create something similar for quite some time now. When it comes to steaming, most people tend to think of the bland, nothing but plain vegetables type of cooking. But in traditional Chinese steaming, lots of different ingredients and seasonings are combined and then arranged nicely on a steaming plate. Moisture is locked in to intensify the natural flavors without drying out the food. Steaming is also a very healthy, low-fat way to cook as very little oil or no oil is used.

Yellow chile peppers are fairly mild as far as chile peppers go, but it’s got enough of a kick to add a bit of hotness to each bite. I usually have to eat mine with steamed white rice to keep it from being too hot. Once again, I’m a wimp.

Tempeh Stuffed Yellow Chile Peppers
Serves 2 as part of a meal

Tempeh Filling
4 dried chinese mushrooms, soaked in water until soft, discard the stems and chopped the caps
3 ounces water chestnuts, chopped
8 ounce package of tempeh, finely crumbled (I like to use Turtle Island Organic Five Grain Tempeh)
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Heat the wok until hot. Add the oil and swirl in the wok to coat. Add the onions and saute over medium heat until translucent. Add the mushrooms, water chestnuts and ginger, if the pan appears dry, add a little bit of water and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the tempeh, water and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Cover and turn down the heat to medium low and simmer until the water is mostly absorbed about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the wok and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Stuffed Yellow Chile Peppers
6 medium yellow chile peppers
1 cup tempeh filling

Wash the chile peppers, cut in half horizontally and take out the stems, seeds and ribs. I always wear rubber gloves so as not to get capsaicin (the hot part of the peppers) on my hands. I didn’t use to before but all it took is rubbing my eye once and never again.

Stuff about 1 tablespoon of the tempeh filling into each half. Arrange the stuffed peppers on a steaming plate. Place the plate on a metal steaming rack in the wok over simmering water, cover and steam for 20 minutes, keeping a careful eye on the water level and add boiling water to the wok if it gets too low. Scoop each pepper out on to a dish and serve.