Tempeh Walnut Vietnamese "Meatless" balls

In an effort to reduce our consumption of meat during the week, I was experimenting with meatless alternatives such as Tempeh and came across this recipe for Tempeh Walnut balls. Although I thought they were pretty decent, my family was put off by the strong fermented aftertaste of the Tempeh. I thought maybe a Vietnamese type meatball may be better suited to the southeast asian fermented soybean. But, I was searching high and low for a Veggie Vietnamese "meatless" ball recipe and came up empty. 

So the recipe below is a mash up of recipes that I thought had the best shot at combining the 2. These can be made ahead of time and frozen until you want to eat them. Great for veggie Vietnamese Sandwiches or Bun Chay (Vietnamese Noodle Salad) or Lettuce cups - (as pictured above)


Tempeh - 2 Packages 8oz Organic Lightlife Tempeh with Flax
Prep - Steam for 15- 20 minutes and allow to cool for handling while preparing walnut/herb past.


Walnut/Herb Paste (For best results use Food processor/Immersion Blender
1/4 cup Fresh thai basil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions
2 tablespoon Fresh Ginger (grated)
1 tablespoon fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam) I use Viet Huong 3 Crabs
1 teaspoon hot chili sauce (such as sriracha)
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons tapioca starch
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 cup of ground flax seed
1 cup of walnuts
(if paste is too thick, add 1/2 teaspoon of water to ease blending)

Prepare:
1. Pulse Walnut/Herb ingredients to a thick paste 
2. Cut cooled Tempeh blocks into 1/2 x 1/2 inch cubes
3. Further break down tempeh cubes by hand to large crumb texture
4. Mix in Walnut Herb Paste into Tempeh and form into firm balls
5. Spray with sunflower oil in pan and heat to medium/low fry balls in non stick or cast iron pan until browned on exterior. 
6. Serve warm in place of traditional pork meatballs in your favorite vietnamese recipe.
7. If storing for future use, Allow finished balls to cool on wire rack.


BONUS RECIPE!

Asian Cabbage Slaw

1 Small Red Cabbage (Cole slaw cut)
3 Medium Carrots (Shredded)
1 TBSP Sweet Ginger Chili Sauce
3 TBSP Sesame Soy Dressing1 Bunch of Mint (Finely chopped right before serving)

Combine 1st 4 ingredients until cabbage is coated and softened.

Add chopped mint as finishing garnish.

Optional add-ins to make a complete salad meal: 

Bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, soba noodles, tofu

Sunday Sauce - Polpette e Salsiccia al Sugo

Sunday Sauce is an Italian Tradition that I learned while studying in Italy.
Slow cooking over low heat all day is the key to maximum flavor. (You can cheat with a pressure cooker or slow cooker) 

Healthy Challenge: Maximize flavor without Ground Beef and Pork for the meatballs. I substituted Ground Turkey, lots of garlic and lots of fresh herbs including Thyme. I did use Italian Pork Sausages by request of my family, but you could use Italian style chicken sausages instead. 

Vegan? You could also sub with Tempeh/Walnut Balls for the Ground Meat Version for a vegan treat. You will also need nutritional yeast and cashew for the parmesan substitute.


Polpette - Meatballs
2 cups - Stale Bread Chunks - (Cut in 1x1cm cubes, leave exposed to air for 2 hours)
3/4 cup Almond or Soy Milk -(Soak Bread Chunks in Milk prior to adding remaining ingredients)
1 lb Ground Turkey 
1 egg
1/2 of Herb Blend (See Below)
1 TSP Sea Salt
1/2 Fresh ground pepper.

Fresh Herb Blend  
Blend in Food Processor until finely chopped. Use 1/2 for Meatballs and 1/2 for Sugo.
1/2 Onion
6 cloves roasted garlic
6 cloves raw garlic
1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley
1 TBSP Fresh Oregano
1 TBSP Fresh Thyme
1/2 Cup Fresh Basil
2/3 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese.

Sugo
1 TBSP Olive Oil
1/2 of Fresh Herb Blend (See above)
2 Medium Carrots (Finely Chopped or Food Processor to Fine texture)
2 Medium Celery (Finely Chopped or Food Processor to Fine texture)
1/4 Cup of Vodka
2 Box Chopped Tomatoes
1 Box Strained Tomatoes

Salsiccia
3 Sausages - Roasted with 1/2 Onion.

Saute Sugo ingredients until translucent ( 1/4 vodka or red wine optional)
pour in chopped and strained tomatoes and stir until well blended.
Put roasted sausages in bottom of sauce pot.
Make Polpette by hand mixing ingredients together and forming golf ball sized meatballs.
Put into the sugo to cook at low/warm for 2-3 hours.
Right before serving, cut sausage links and return to sauce.

Serve over fresh pasta or polenta.
Garnish with Chopped Fresh Parsley/Basil .