Tempeh is one of my favorite things to make veggie burgers out of. But it took me a while to come up with the perfect way to use tempeh in a burger. Here’s the thing about tempeh burgers: the tempeh really sucks up flavor. So when you’re putting it in a burger, you want to use intensely flavorful seasonings and sauces. Teriyaki sauce is perfect! But here’s the other thing: tempeh doesn’t hold together like other ingredients we normally make vegan burgers out of, namely, beans. Kind of weird, considering the fact that tempeh is made from beans (learn about that in this homemade tempeh recipe), but the fermented soy beans used to make tempeh are firm and not very starchy. They don’t hold together very well when smushed. Fortunately, that’s an easy problem to solve. I simply added some black beans to my tempeh burgers! I figured they work well in a black bean burger, so they would probably work well here. They did! While there are all kinds of ways to season a tempeh burger, I went with zesty Asian flavors and a teriyaki sauce similar to what I used in my teriyaki tofu. I topped my burgers with gingery Asian slaw. They were absolutely divine.
How They’re Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Making the Sauce
Tip: I made my own teriyaki sauce for these burgers, but you could use your favorite bottled teriyaki sauce if you’ve got one. You’ll need about ¾ cup of it. Making your own sauce is very easy though. You’ll be throwing a handful of ingredients into a small saucepan: water, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger. Also include some mirin (Chinese cooking wine) or sherry, if you can. It adds a nice flavor. If you’re alcohol free or just never buy either of those ingredients, leave it out and the sauce will still taste great. Mix everything up and let it simmer for few minutes. Meanwhile, mix up some cold water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add it to your sauce during the last minute or so of simmering. It should thicken up quickly. And that’s it! See! Homemade teriyaki sauce is super easy.
Making the Burgers
You have the option of steaming your tempeh for these burgers. It removes the bitterness that many people dislike about tempeh. But there’s another reason to steam it when you’re making burgers. Steaming the tempeh also allows you to taste-test (and adjust the seasonings in) your burger mix before shaping and cooking your burgers. You normally wouldn’t be able to do this, because eating raw tempeh is a bad idea. Place some oats into a food processor bowl and grind them to a fine powder. Next, crumble your tempeh into the food processor bowl with the oats. Add some black beans, shallots, garlic, and your teriyaki sauce. Pulse the food processor until everything is finely chopped and well mixed. Feel free to give it a taste-test if (and only if) you did decide to steam the tempeh.
Cooking the Burgers
Shape your mixture into patties and pan-fry them in a bit of oil. About 5 minutes on each side over medium heat should do the job! I like to top my tempeh burgers with a bit of extra teriyaki sauce and some Asian slaw.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover tempeh burger patties will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Prep-Ahead Tips
The teriyaki sauce can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. I recommend making extra if you do this, because you’ll probably loose a little bit of sauce when transferring it to and from the storage container (it’s sticky). The burger mixture can be prepared in advance and refrigerated or frozen for later. To do this, follow the recipe to step 4 (of the process for making the burgers), place the mixture in a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to cook it, thaw (if frozen), then pick up with the recipe at step 6.
More Tempeh Recipes
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