Steaming

Steaming is the best cooking method to sustain the nutrients and antioxidants from vegetables. It maintains their natural taste and their vibrant color as well. Make sure to wash the vegetables first before adding to a metal or a bamboo basket steamer. Remember not to over steam, 5 - 15 minutes will do or test softness with a fork. Once done, add a squeeze of lemon and olive oil with some salt and pepper to taste. Yummy as a side dish or a substantial meal in itself.

Here's a lovely recipe with the goodness of asian flare, it's so healthy and delicious!

Tip: It's all about good timing. Just before sauteing the tempeh, the steaming beans must be just about a couple of minutes done. Serve vegetables steaming hot and crunchy.



Steamed Green Beans with Tempeh

2 tbsp virgin expeller pressed olive oil

2 handfuls of green beans

4 cloves garlic, minced (1 clove for sauteeing)

1 tbsp ginger, grated

1/4 cup Nama Shoyu

3 tbsp honey (agave or brown rice syrup)

1 cup (4 oz.) tempeh, cooked, cut 1" sq x 1/4" thick (ready-to-eat tempeh are available in supermarkets)

Himalayan salt

pepper

Marinate

In a bowl, add and mix garlic, ginger, nama shoyu, agave, and pepper.

Add the tempeh to the mixture and marinate for 1-2 hours (or longer, it gets tastier).

Sautee

Add the olive oil to a medium heated pan.

Add and sautee garlic until brown. Scoop out the tempeh with a strainer ladle to separate from the marinade, then add to the pan and sautee. Keep the nama shoyu marinade aside.

Quickly heat the tempeh and brown each side for a total of 1 minute, careful not to overcook.

Add the remaining nama shoyu marinade and cook for another minute and set aside.

Steam

Wash and trim the ends of the green beans then cut in half.

Steam beans for about 5 mins or depending on how soft you prefer them to be. But no more than 10 minutes.

Ready, steady, eat!

On a plate, lay the steamed bright green beans and add the delicious tempeh on top!