One of my goals in the new year is to create easy, wholesome and tasty one-pot meals on the fly, so I can have more time to read and relax. My Vegan Jamaican Mango Stew, as exotic and special as it sounds, is exactly that kind of recipe.
It takes me under 30 minutes to make this stew, chopping veggies and all. A Jamaican Mango Stew usually includes meat of some kind, and I chose to substitute with tempeh, which — as you know — is packed with protein and delicious, not to mention way healthier. The tempeh gets even more flavorful when it’s dredged in some curry powder and other spices, and toasted before it goes into the creamy stew.
I took a Jamaican stew recipe I found online and then riffed off from there, adding flavors and ingredients that I thought would do well with the spices and mango and tempeh. The coconut is amazing: it makes the curry velvety and creamy, all the better to showcase the textures and flavors of the chewy tempeh, silken mango, slightly crunchy bell pepper, and fiery onion.
The recipe makes a rather large pot– you can easily serve eight people with this amount. I use it to top some rice or quinoa– brown rice would be perfect, if you swing that way.
We have storms and chilly winds and snow in our forecast, and I cannot imagine a better way to ride these out than sitting on my couch, snuggled up in a blanky, with a bowl of this delicious stew warming my hands and about to warm my belly.
Vegan Jamaican Mango Stew
Ingredients
- 2 ripe mangoes, pitted and diced
- 1 medium red onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1/4 scotch bonnet pepper, deseeded and minced (this is an incredibly hot pepper, so if you don't want to use it, use a seeded jalapeno instead. It does add great flavor, though.
- 1 8 ounce package of tempeh, cut into cubes, about 1/2-inch square
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tbsp chopped thyme (if using dry, use 1 tsp)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped, optional
- Salt to taste
- 2 medium potatoes (use red or yellow), boiled and diced
- 1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk
- 1/4 cup mango puree (you can either use canned or just puree fresh mangoes)
Instructions
- In a bowl, toss the tempeh cubes with curry powder, black pepper, paprika, tamari and salt.
- Heat 1 tsp of oil in a large saucepan or skillet. Add the tempeh cubes in a single layer and cook 2 minutes or until browned lightly on all sides.
- Remove the tempeh and reserve.
- In the same pot, add the remaining oil and saute the onions and garlic until they begin to soften, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the green pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, turmeric and thyme, and stir well to mix.
- Add the cooked potatoes and half the coconut milk. Stir well to mix and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, cover, and let the stew cook for five minutes so the flavors merge.
- Add the tempeh, mangoes, mango puree and the remaining coconut milk and heat until warmed through, but turn off the heat before the stew comes to a boil. Check salt and add more if needed.
- Garnish with coriander leaves, if using, and serve hot.
Notes
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Another savory mango recipe from the archives:
Indian-style vegan Mango Curry
Or, for a sweeter treat, try out this perennial favorite at our home:
Vegan Mango Cupcakes with Mango Buttercream
This stew is a great way of implementing healthy food into my and into my kids diet.
Enjoyed this (but still like Indian food better than Jamaican!). I steamed the tempeh before frying it—seems to make it less bitter. We added toasted coconut, cashews, and raisins as garnishes because back in the dark ages when we ate meat, we made a chicken curry where we used these toppings.
For us it’s 6 portions—-maybe we need to decrease our portion size! (We even had a side dish of greens with it!)