Tempeh

Tempeh comes in two camps: plain soy, which has the firmest bite and cleanest nutty flavor, and three-grain (soy plus grains like brown rice, barley, or millet), which is softer, milder, and crumbles more easily. Reach for plain soy when you want steaks that hold a crust, three-grain when you're making a ground-meat sub. Buy cakes that feel firm and look evenly speckled; a light dusting of white or a few gray-to-black specks is just the fermentation doing its job, but skip anything slimy or spotted with pink, yellow, or blue. Because tempeh is porous, it marinates faster and deeper than tofu: 30 minutes does real work, overnight is better. Unopened blocks keep about a week in the fridge and freeze for months with no loss of texture.

Tempeh is the most underrated plant protein you can cook. It's a firm, nutty cake that holds its shape, takes a real crust, and won't go to mush the way tofu can. The one move almost everyone skips is the pre-steam: simmer or steam the block 10 minutes before cooking so the pores open, marinade soaks in, and the faint raw bitterness cooks off. Below you'll find exact times and temps for baking, air frying, sautéing, and grilling.