No, it’s tempeh strips. You know turkey bacon, but do you know tempeh (pronounced temp-ay) bacon?
Last night, I needed to prepare a quick, easy meal. But like everyone, I don’t really feel like sacrificing taste. I have been reading about “fakin’ bacon” on so many blogs and had to try it for myself. Fakin’ bacon is made of tempeh, which is a fermented soy. Because it’s fermented, you do not have to worry about many of the typical soy side-effects (which I think are exaggerated anyhow).
If you’ve never tried tempeh, buying the fakin’ bacon is a good place to start. You can make your own for cheaper, but that would add some time I did not have to the meal prep. Tempeh is a meat substitute, but unlike tofu, has much more texture and feels less processed. When I prepare it myself, it can be bland. But I have had so many good tempeh sandwiches when eating out that I believe in it.
I looks a little mealy straight from the package.
Because it does not have the fat content that bacon usually does, you have to add oil to your pan and heat it before laying in the tempeh strips.
I let them sizzle until crispy.
And then I used them to make the best BLT BAT ever. We had toasted whole wheat bread topped with a couple strips of tempeh, a tomato slice, and a few avocado chunks. I also mixed some capers, paprika, salt, and pepper into a few tablespoons of vegenaise.
I believe that’s leftover Anniversary wine in the background…yum.
I think this sandwich beats our grilled tofu and hummus sandwich from earlier. I wanted to eat another immediately. Unfortunately, we were out of bacon thanks to our nibbling and taste-testing.
Did it taste exactly like pig bacon? No. And the texture is different. But it is also really nice to eat four and a half pieces of bacon and not feel guilty about it.
