Tempeh

Doneness

Tempeh is done when the cubes or slices are golden with crisp, browned edges and the surface is firm and dry to the touch rather than soft. It's a pre-made fermented soy cake — fully edible as-is — so you're crisping and warming it, not cooking raw protein; there's no probe temperature. Look for deep golden edges and a firm, slightly chewy bite; pale tempeh is under-crisped and still tastes starchy.

Oil & seasoning

Toss the tempeh in oil or an oil-based marinade before cooking — it's dry and porous, so the fat is what crisps the edges instead of leaving them hard and chalky. If cooking it plain, spray the cubes well before and at the shake.

Season with: Classic marinated tempeh (the benchmark): ½-inch cubes marinated in soy sauce, maple syrup, garlic and smoked paprika, then air-fried crisp — savoury-sweet, for grain bowls, wraps and salads., Tempeh bacon: thin slabs marinated in soy, maple and a little liquid smoke, air-fried until crisp and chewy at the edges — a smoky breakfast strip., Plain crispy tempeh: cubes tossed in just oil and salt and air-fried to a neutral crisp base, then sauced after cooking., BBQ or buffalo tempeh: crisp the cubes first in a soy marinade, then toss in BBQ or buffalo sauce near the end — sweet sauces go on late so they don't scorch..

Watch out for

• !Steam or simmer the block about 10 minutes first to mellow bitterness (optional but recommended). Raw tempeh can taste bitter; a quick steam softens that edge and helps it soak up marinade.
• !Marinate or oil it — never air-fry tempeh dry. Its porous surface turns hard, dry and chalky without fat; toss to coat every cube before cooking.
• !Single layer and shake at the halfway point. Piled cubes brown unevenly and stay pale where they touch; spread them out and shake at 7 minutes.
• !Add sweet or BBQ sauces near the end, not at the start. Sugary glazes scorch over a full cook — crisp the tempeh in a soy-based marinade and toss it in the sweet sauce in the last couple of minutes or after.