This is my favorite recipe that I learned how to make while in Indonesia, and it’s the only Indonesian dish I still cook. Who knew that it would look so good in a temperate zone, where we have seasons!

This dish is called tempeh orek. It uses tempeh, an affordable meat substitute similar to tofu. It’s firmer and chewier than tofu, with soybeans embedded in a sort of block that you can cut into strips and fry up like meat.

To make tempeh orek, you first deep-fry the tempeh all by itself in a pan full of that Indonesian cooking staple, palm oil. When the pieces are light brown, take them out with a strainer and drain them on paper towels.

Let the oil in the pan cool and pour off most of it (say, into a reserve jar). Leave enough to sautee spices. Then you need to sautee a large pile of chopped or grated shallots, grated garlic, and grated ginger for about 30 seconds. (If you have no shallots, you can substitute white or yellow onion, or even leave them out.) While sauteeing, add about a tablespoon of MSG, powdered chicken stock, or a powdered seasoning packet from an instant Ramen.

Once you have the flavors prepared, add back in the tempeh strips and stir to coat. Then sprinkle on palm sugar — about a quarter cup per six ounces of tempeh. Brown sugar makes a fine substitute. Stir, and the sugar will melt and coat the tempeh to make a savory syrup. Finally, add chopped steamed green beans and red peppers that you have pre-prepped. You may need to add a dash of water to the pan in order to get the syrup liquidy enough to coat all the goodies within.

Serve over rice. If you want a really authentic Indonesian experience, you should have sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) and pureed chile peppers (sambal) on the side, and fruit for dessert.

The only drawback to this meal is that tempeh costs $3 to $4 per six ounces (or is it eight ounces?) at my grocery store. I usually buy two blocks and make a double batch, which is sometimes enough for my family, but really, they would eat twice that in a sitting if they could.