I feel like I say this every month, but August has flown by! I have made so many delicious things and I can’t believe this is the last one. Not to worry though, I have lots coming up in September, so be on the lookout for that!

Also, with a new month coming up, that means my next newsletter is going out soon! If you didn’t know, I have a newsletter filled with recipes and cooking tips and it comes right to your inbox! You can still sign up in time to receive September’s edition. Click the link here to subscribe!

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Now let’s get to today’s recipe!

This dish is called Dan Dan Noodles which is something I have never made or eaten before. It is traditionally made with pork which I do not eat, so I was excited to make this version from the Thug Kitchen 101 cookbook. Instead of pork, this recipe uses crumbled tempeh, which I used in another recipe from this book – Sweet Potato Al Pastor.

The tempeh is cooked in a skillet with shallot, ginger, Chinese 5 spice, rice vinegar and soy sauce. It gets a little crispy but it is really nicely seasoned with those ingredients. You could just prepare the tempeh and keep that in the fridge for meals anytime. It is such a great source of protein and it has a much better texture than tofu.

Aside from the tempeh, in the bowl, there was bok choy, udon noodles and some garnishes – cucumber, green onion, cilantro and sesame seeds. I’ve never really eaten udon noodles but they were so good. They have such a nice chewy but firm texture.

Over everything, was a delicious sesame sauce. It had a base of tahini (sesame paste) which made it super creamy, as well as veggie broth, soy sauce, chili oil, maple syrup (recipe called for agave), garlic and more 5 spice powder. I liked the flavour a lot but I added a touch more chili for an extra kick.

This was such a good meal. When you get a noodle with some bok choy, the tempeh, the fresh garnishes and the sauce, it is so delicious. There’s a really good balance of textures and flavours. Such a great dinner and I had lots of leftovers for lunch the next day. Also, originally I ate this hot but the next day I had it cold and it was equally delicious!