Chinese UnChicken Salad

It looks like we're going to have a break in our Pacific Northwest heat wave today. Instead of reaching 106°, today's forecast is for a high temperature of just 95°. I'm not complaining. We don't have humidity here. At least not at the same time we have heat. But I still think it's too hot to cook, so I'll be making some kind of salad again tonight. Last night we enjoyed one of my husband's favorite dishes, a tasty Asian-inspired unchicken salad sandwich. Made with lightly fried tempeh, it's filling and nutritious. Of course, I used coconut oil to fry the tempeh, but if you don't want a coconutty overtone, you can use olive oil instead.

Ingredients:

1 Granny Smith apple, chopped into small pieces
3 celery stalks, chopped into small pieces
5 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup sliced raw almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 12-oz package tempeh, cut into small cubes
1 Tbs coconut oil
2 Tbs Vegenaise

1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbs light soy sauce, tamari, or nama shoyu
1 Tbs ground black pepper
1 Tbs toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp five-spice

Directions:

Heat oil in a large skillet and fry tempeh just until edges are golden-brown. Remove from heat, and let cool while preparing the other ingredients. Combine the apple, celery, scallions, almonds, and cranberries in a large bowl, and add Vegenaise to bind it together. Stir in fried tempeh.

Combine rice vinegar, soy sauce, pepper, toasted sesame oil, and five spice in a small glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake vigorously to combine ingredients well. Pour 3 or more of dressing over the salad, depending on how spicy you'd like it. Serve salad in bowls, as a sandwich on toast, or open-faced as pictured above. Store remaining dressing in refrigerator for use in salads or stir-fries, for up to 1 week. Makes 4-6 servings.