• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Chef JA Cooks
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
  • 日本語
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
  • 日本語
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Shop
    • Subscribe
    • 日本語
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Tofu and Meat Substitutes

    Japanese style tempeh dry curry

    May 19, 2022 by JURI · This post may contain affiliate links

    4 from 1 vote
    JUMP TO RECIPE JUMP TO VIDEO

    Healthy Japanese style dry curry with chopped tempeh instead of meat. It's an easy and simple recipe even if you are not familiar with tempeh.

    Japanese style tempeh dry curry

    Tempeh is fermented soybeans. It has a firm texture and doesn't lose its shape like tofu, so it's a great meat substitute for vegan/vegetarian.

    Dry curry is a type of curry that originated in Japan. It doesn't need to simmer in a soup so cooking time is shorter than regular curry.

      Recommend this recipe for
    • Someone who love healthy Japanese recipe
    • Someone who wants to learn how to cook tempeh
    • Someone who look for easy curry recipe

    Ok, let me introduce you to how to make this healthy and easy Japanese dry curry with tempeh. Let's get started!

    Jump to:
    • About this recipe
    • What is dry curry
    • What is tempeh
    • 📋 Ingredients
    • 🔪Instructions
    • Serve with Japanese steamed rice
    • Thanks for Stopping By
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    About this recipe

    • No meat, vegan recipe
    • Japanese-style dry curry
    • Easy and quick

    What is dry curry

    Dry curry is the Japanese original menu, and it refers to all curries with low water content. Even it includes curry-flavored fried rice.

    It's similar to India's keema curry made with minced meat, but dry curry has no specific rules for ingredients.

    Minced meat dry curry, vegetable dry curry, beans dry curry... you can choose any ingredients you like.

    What is tempeh

    tempeh

    Tempeh is an Indonesian fermented food made by fermenting boiled soybeans. We often compare to natto as it is also fermented soybeans, but tempeh is more versatile, and not sticky like natto nor has a strong smell.

    Since it's a soybean product, it's so nutritious such as rich in high-quality protein, vitamin B, dietary fiber, and more.

    It is typically sold in the form of a plate-like the picture above (this one is 500g/17cmx17cm). The soybeans are covered with white mycelium, holding the beans together, so even if you cut them into thin slices, they will not fall apart.

    It has a firm texture, and the taste is light. It doesn't have much smell, but some people don't like the smell, so in that case, it is good to cook with garlic or ginger.

    How to eat tempeh in Japanese way

    slice of tempeh

    You can enjoy tempeh in various ways such as bake, stir fry, deep fry, and so on.

    Since the taste is light, it's tastier to coat with flour or potato starch and toss with seasoning, or marinade before cooking.

    Tempeh Japanese recipes

    • Marinated tempeh syogayaki
    • Tempeh karaage
    • Tempeh vegetable stir fry
    • Tempeh tempura
    • Tempeh oyakodon(egg and rice bowl)
    • Tempeh teriyaki
    • Fried tempeh

    *I will create these recipes sometime soon.

    Where to buy in Japan

    If you live in Japan and look for a place to buy tempeh, I can give you my recommendation.

    You might find a small package(such as 100g) in the tofu or natto area but if you want to buy a larger size, the online store is the best.

    My recommendation: Motai Tempeh in Nagano

    They use Japanese soybeans, and it has a rich soybean flavor and are tasty. The service is smooth and nice, so I've been buying from them for a long time.

    They sell 2 sizes, 100g, and 500g. In addition to soybeans, they also sell tempeh made from black beans and chickpeas. It's shipped frozen, and the expiration date is one year.

    I always buy Tempeh 500g. The shipping is a little expensive so I buy in bulk like 3kg at one time and keep them in the freezer.

    If you are interested, please check Motai tempeh's site. They also sell on Amazon.

    📋 Ingredients

    Here are the ingredients (amounts are in the recipe card below).

    Ingredients for Japanese style tempeh dry curry
    • Tempeh
    • Vegetables: Ginger, garlic, onion, and carrot
    • Seasoning: Ketchup, soy sauce, curry powder, and salt

    🔪Instructions

    Ok, let me walk you through the steps. You can also watch this video.

    How to cook Japanese style tempeh dry curry
    1. Mince ingredients: Mince a ginger, garlic, onion, carrot, and tempeh. Use food processor for carrot, onion, and tempeh so that you can save a lot of time.
    2. Stir fry ginger and garlic: Warm a frying pan, pour some olive oil, and stir fry minced garlic and ginger over low heat.
    3. Stir fry onion and carrot: Add onion and carrot then stir fry until tender.
    4. Stir fry tempeh: Add tempeh and stir fry. You can stir fry the tempeh lightly as it can be eaten raw.
    5. Season: Blend all the seasoning, pour over, and mix until the color spread evenly.

    As soon as you add the tempeh, it will be completed, so fry the onions and carrots until they are tender enough so that they don't have a hard texture.

    Japanese style tempeh dry curry

    Store in the fridge, and it will last for 3 days.

    Serve with Japanese steamed rice

    In Japan, curry is always served with Japanese steamed rice. This is the best way to eat! Serve with a fresh vegetable salad and you have a healthy lunch!

    Japanese style tempeh dry curry and salad

    Other ways to eat

    This curry goes well with thick fat udon noodles, as well as boiled potatoes.

    • Curry udon noodles: Blend it with dashi (soup stock), and pour over warm or cold udon noodles
    • Curried potato salad: Mix tempeh curry and mashed potato, and season with mayo, and salt and pepper

    Thanks for Stopping By

    It's a super easy curry recipe. If you love curry, Japanese taste, and tempeh, you gotta try this!

    I hope you will love this recipe:)

    Thank you for taking the time to read my blog♡ If you’ve tried this recipe(or any other recipe on the blog), please give it a star rating below!

    Also, feel free to leave comments if you have any questions. I love hearing from you!

    Chef JA Cooks is a Japanese food blog that shares simple and healthy Japanese home cooking recipes include vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step-by-step instructions.

    More Tempeh Recipes You Might Like

    • Marinated tempeh shogayaki
    • Tempeh karaage
    • Tempeh teriyaki

    📖 Recipe

    Japanese style tempeh dry curry

    Japanese Style Tempeh Dry Curry (Vegan)

    4 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep: 10 minutes
    Cook: 10 minutes
    Total: 18 minutes
    Servings: 4 servings
    Author: JURI
    Healthy Japanese style dry curry with chopped tempeh instead of meat. It's easy and simple recipe even if you are not familiar with tempeh.
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 clove Ginger
    • 1 clove Garlic
    • ½ Onion, 120g
    • ½ Carrot
    • 1 ½ c Tempeh, 250g
    • Oil, for cooking

    Seasoning

    • 2 tablespoon Ketchup
    • 2 tablespoon Soy sauce
    • 2 teaspoon Curry powder
    • ½ teaspoon Salt

    Instructions

    • Mince ingredients: Mince a ginger, garlic, onion, carrot, and tempeh.
    • Stir fry ginger and garlic: Warm a frying pan, pour some olive oil, and stir fry minced garlic and ginger over low heat.
    • Stir fry onion and carrot: Add onion and carrot then stir fry until tender.
    • Stir fry tempeh: Add tempeh and stir fry.
    • Season: Blend all the seasoning, pour over, and mix until the color spread evenly.

    Video

    Notes

    • Equipment: Frying pan 26cm/10 inch
    • Storage: It will last for 3 days in the fridge.
    • You can save time chopping ingredients with a food processor.
    • You can stir fry tempeh lightly as it can be eaten raw

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 105kcal | Carbohydrates: 11.3g | Protein: 5.3g | Fat: -1g | Sodium: 602mg | Sugar: 4.5g
    Course: Main
    Cuisine: Japanese
    Keyword: Japanese style tempeh dry curry, vegan
    Did You Make this recipe?Please Leave a star rating!
    « Fried Koyadofu
    Tempeh Stir Fry in Japanese Teriyaki Sauce »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Serena

      February 10, 2022 at 7:11 pm

      4 stars
      Hi! I made this recipe and it was very tasty but also very salty 🙁 What kind of soy sauce are you using?

      Reply
      • JURI

        February 11, 2022 at 6:28 am

        Hi Serena, thanks for trying my recipe but sorry for the result is not the best... I use Saishikomi Shoyu (Refermented) which is a dark color and more savory than standard one (this is good info: https://www.soysauce.or.jp/en/types-and-how-to-use-them). I think it might be salt...I use sea salt and maybe the amount of salt should be less if you use other types of salt. Let me reconsider the recipe. Thanks for letting me know!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm JURI!

    I'm mama to two energetic children and passionate about making healthy meals for the family. I love sharing simple Japanese home cooking recipes, mostly plant-based recipes (vegan and vegetarian). More about me...

    Jiri@Chef JA Cooks

    Popular Recipes

    • No Flour Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan)
    • How To Make Koji Rice Amazake (Fermented Rice Drink)
    • Easy Canned Mackerel Omelet
    • Cucumber Asazuke (Japanese Pickles)
    • Fluffy Rice Flour Pancakes (Gluten-Free)
    • Vegan Matcha Pound Cake

    Check All The Recipes

    recipe archive

    Get the Kabocha eBook

    CJC T-Shirt is on Sale!

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
    • 日本語日本語
    • EnglishEnglish
    Vegetarian Recipe eBook Banner

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Contact
    • Kabocha eBook
    • Original T-Shirt

    Newsletter

    • Subscribe! for updates

    Language

    • Japanese
    • English

    Chef JA Cooks participates in amazon affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions if you purchase products after clicking an affiliate link. No extra cost to you.

    Copyright © 2022 Chef JA Cooks

    102 shares