Easy Tempeh Marinade Recipe (Japanese Shogayaki)

This is an easy and tasty Japanese-style tempeh dish with a gingery marinade. Shogayaki, like teriyaki but with ginger, turns tempeh into a delightful main course. Our tempeh marinade adds rich flavors that go perfectly with Japanese sticky rice.

Thanks for visiting my page. Since you are here, I assume you are already familiar with tempeh and looking for new ideas for cooking tempeh?

You will love this Marinated Tempeh Shogayaki recipe if you love Japanese food. This is like teriyaki but with the flavor of ginger. (“Shoga” means ginger, “Yaki” means grilled)

Teriyaki sauce is typically made from sake, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. And shogayaki sauce is made from the same ingredients, plus grated ginger.

If that sounds good to you, let me show you how to cook it!

This recipe is for you if:
• You likes tempeh or teriyaki (Japanese food).
• You want to make an easy main dish with simple ingredients.
• You are vegan, vegetarian, or transferring to a plant-based diet.

Let me walk you through the ingredients and the instructions. If you want to skip to “Easy Tempeh Marinade Recipe”, go ahead and skip to the recipe.

What is Tempeh?

Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans and has its origins in Indonesia. It’s highly nutritious and a great source of plant-based protein. (1 cup contains 31 grams of protein!) It’s also a great source of vitamin B. It’s often used as a meat substitute for vegans and vegetarians.

Tempeh has a slightly acquired taste, so it’s best to add more flavor than usual. If you are worried about the smell of beans, you can cover it with strong seasoning.

Japanese Tempeh

I want to discuss the tempeh made here in Japan.

This picture is the package of tempeh that I usually buy from an online store. It is produced locally made with Japanese soybeans.

Tempeh is not a common food here, only well-known by the vegan/vegetarian community. Medium-scale grocery stores or whole food stores sell it in small packages, so I buy it at online stores, which carry a variety of sizes.

I saw a recipe in English where they steam tempeh before cooking, but we don’t do that here. Tempeh in Japan can usually be eaten raw.

📋 Ingredients

Here are the ingredients of our simple tempeh marinade (amounts are in the recipe card below).

• Tempeh
• Japanese Sake
• Mirin
• Soy Sauce
• Ginger
• Flour

🔪Instructions

We have all the ingredients now, so here are the step-by-step instructions.

1. Mix seasoning: Put sake, mirin, and soy sauce in a small bowl.
2. Add grated ginger: Add grated ginger to the bowl to make a ginger marinade.
3. Slice tempeh: Slice tempeh into 5-7mm thin strips.
4. Marinate: Add the sliced tempeh pieces to the marinade and leave for 10-15 minutes. If you have time, finish the process the day before and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight (in an airtight container) to make the sauce soak deeper into the tempeh. Also, if you like ginger, adding more ginger would be great.
5. Coat the tempeh with flour: Coat both sides of the tempeh with flour. You can skip this process if you are in a hurry, as it has a delicious flavor without flour.
6. Grill: Put oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, grill the tempeh for about 2 minutes, flip it over, and grill for another 2 minutes. The tempeh will absorb the oil quickly, so please add more if necessary and be careful not to burn it.

There you go! Our golden brown Japanese-style marinated tempeh is done!

My favorite way to eat tempeh is to place them on steamed rice along with vegetable stir fry, bell pepper, or a green salad and make it a rice bowl! Next time, how about making some tempeh lettuce wraps or tempeh tacos?! Feel free to experiment!

Thanks For Stopping By!

I introduced how to make tempeh shogayaki, and I hope you find it to be a great addition to your cooking skills.

It’s super simple and easy with minimal meal prep. So, if you get your tempeh, let’s make it and enjoy a delicious, wholesome meal!

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!

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