Tempeh Karaage - Japanese Fried Dish (Vegan)

This is a Japanese-style tempeh dish, Vegan Tempeh Karaage. Marinate the piece of tempeh in homemade sauce and fry it. Simple but super tasty recipe!

Karaage is a Japanese deep-fried dish and is usually cooked with chicken. Karaage is not only for chicken, it's also a great way to cook tempeh for vegans/vegetarians.

I often make this recipe as it's our family's favorite!

Even if you are not so familiar with tempeh, don't worry, how to make this karaage is super easy!

This recipe is for you if:
• You love tempeh
• You are vegan or vegetarian
• You want to make something easy with tempeh
• You are looking for savory vegan main dish

I will show you how to make this easy vegan dish. If you want to check the recipe right away, please jump to the recipe card. Let's get cooking!

Jump to:

• About This Recipe
• 📋 Ingredients
• 🔪Instructions
• The Best Way To Eat It
• Thanks for Stopping By!
• More Vegetarian Recipes You Might Like
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

About This Recipe

• Easy tempeh recipe
• Japanese karaage recipe
• Takes under 15 minutes
• Vegan/Vegetarian

📋 Ingredients

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

All you need are 3 ingredients.

• Tempeh
• Potato Starch: Use potato starch to make the outside crispy. You can substitute it with regular flour or corn starch.
• Garlic Ginger Soy Sauce: This is a homemade all-purpose sauce. Please see the instructions below.

How To Make Garlic Ginger Soy Sauce

With this sauce, any ingredients can be transformed into delicious karaage. This sauce is also great for stir-fry and chahan(Japanese fried rice).

Ingredients

• 400ml Soy Sauce
• 1 clove Garlic
• 1 clove Ginger

Instructions

1. Finely chop garlic and ginger with a food processor
2. Put soy sauce, chopped garlic, and ginger in a bottle and stir
3. Leave it in the refrigerator for one day before using

If you don't have a food processor, chop finely with a knife.

You can store it in the refrigerator for 2-3 months.

Glass Jar

I recommend storing the sauce in a glass jar. About 500ml would be the right size.

I use a glass jar, and since the lid is stainless, I can't get rid of the garlic smell on it. That's why I always use the same jar for this sauce.

If you don't like to have the smell on the lid, use the one with a glass lid.

🔪Instructions

Let me show you how to make it! You can also watch this video.

1. Cut tempeh　>> Cut tempeh into a small bite size
2. Put them in a bowl　>> Put tempeh in a bowl and pour homemade sauce over
3. Marinate　>> Mix them by hands and let them soak more than 10 mins
4. Coat with potato starch　>> Pour some oil to a frying pan, heat it over medium heat and place tempeh coated with potato starch
5. Fry　>> Fry on medium heat for 2 mins until golden brown
6. Fry the other side　>> Flip it over and fry another 2 mins

Your crispy and yummy tempeh karaage is done!

It's delicious even when it's cooled, so this is a staple recipe for when we go out for a picnic, and it's also great for meal prepping.

The Best Way To Eat It

My recommendation is Rice Bowl!

Serve Japanese steamed rice in a deep bowl, place tempeh karaage on, and top with shredded nori. And add some green salad on the side, and then the vegan tempeh karaage rice bowl is done! It's a healthy and beautiful lunch!

If you are tired of eating it as it is, here is another idea: vegan tempeh karaage with egg.

Heat dashi(soup stock) in a frying pan, put the tempeh karaage, pour the beaten eggs over, and cook for a couple of minutes. Put it on the steamed rice, and ready to eat! This is also a delicious dish.

Thanks for Stopping By!

I introduced a Japanese-style tempeh recipe. How did you like it?

If you make the garlic ginger soy sauce beforehand, it's quick to make this recipe. It's a great main dish and also an appetizer. I hope you will enjoy it with your family.

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, including vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step-by-step instructions.

More Vegetarian Recipes You Might Like

• Marinated Tempeh-Japanese Syogayaki
• Tofu Hambagu
• Koyadofu Cheese Katsu
• Takikomi Gohan With Shiokombu
• Inari Sushi

📖 Recipe