My husband Lance and I take turns cooking each night. When I was considering going vegan, I knew the hardest part would be finding recipes and cooking methods that would replace our usual staples that included meat and/or dairy. I invested in cookbooks, and started looking up recipes online. After a few months, we’d learned how to make so many new things like tomato sauce, stir fry sauces, and how to cook tofu and tempeh. And we’d found our go-to easy dishes to cook after a long day of work.
A huge part of this was learning how to create sauces from scratch. Once we knew how to make sauces, we simply added fresh veggies that were in our fridge or ready in the garden, tofu or tempeh, and then a carbohydrate like rice or udon noodles. The sauces below are Lance’s favor, and he uses at least one or two of these for a few meals a week, and I’m not complaining! Master the sauces using the basic recipes below, and then get creative and add what you like!
Stir Fry Sauce
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 5 tbsps of tamari
- 5 tbsps of rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp of sesame oil
Prep vegetables by cutting into bite sized pieces. Use what you have available, or use the following: carrots, bell peppers, summer squash, zucchini, mushrooms, snow peas, and kale. Cut tempeh into 1 inch rectangles. Add ingredients for stir fry sauce to a bowl and whisk together. Set aside. Cook udon noodles as per directions on packet.
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a wok. Add tempeh and sauté until slightly browned. Add vegetables to the wok + a little sesame oil. Drain udon noodles when ready. Add udon noodles to the wok with cooked vegetables. Add stir fry sauce. Combine ingredients, warm through, and serve!
Peanut Butter Sauce
- 5 tbsps of natural peanut butter
- 5 tbsps of tamari
- 5 tbsps of rice vinegar
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tsps of minced ginger
- 5 tbsps of water
Prep vegetables by cutting into bite sized pieces. Use what you have available, or use the following: carrots, bell peppers, summer squash, zucchini, mushrooms, snow peas, and kale. Cut tempeh into 1 inch rectangles. Add ingredients for peanut butter sauce to a bowl and whisk together. Set aside. Cook brown rice as per directions on packet.
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a wok. Add tempeh and sauté until slightly browned. Add vegetables to the wok + a little sesame oil. Once rice is ready, add to the wok with the cooked vegetables. Add peanut butter sauce. Combine ingredients, warm through, and serve!
Fried Rice Sauce
- 3 tbsps of tamari
- 1 tbsp of peanut butter
- 2-3 tbsps of brown sugar or maple syrup
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1-2 tsps of sriracha
- 1 tsp of sesame oil
Hopefully you’re getting the idea, here. This fried rice sauce is more sweet and spicy than the peanut butter sauce. All of these recipes taste great with sesame seeds added at the end.