I have a thing for sweet potatoes. Can you tell?
How can I resist? Sweet potatoes form the perfect basis for my diet, as they’re tasty, easy to cook, cheap, and really good for the body. Like, really good!
Tubers like sweet potatoes have been part of the human diet since the Paleolithic age, i.e. way before agriculture made its appearance on the world stage. Thus, because we’ve adapted to eating this vegetable for millions of years, our bodies are able to recognize sweet potatoes as food and not an enemy, as our bodies may do with wheat. This means your bodies understand how to properly digest them, absorb all the nutrients, and not be left with any discomfort in the stomach.
While there’s a lot more to it than I’m willing to explain (and you’re willing to read), it has to do with a chemical contained in most foods called “lectins”, which are proteins that attach to cells and nerve endings inside the body, interfering with our internal biological networking; lectins is a plant’s defense system against predators, like humans. Some lectins are more efficient in messing with our bodies than others are, one of which reasons is for the amount of time we’ve been consuming a plant. The longer we’ve been eating a food, the more time we’ve had to understand the lectins it contains, how to detect them, and how to disable them before they cause harm.
If you want to learn more about this scientific mumbo-jumbo, I suggest you read this new book called The Plant Paradox. It’s flipping my entire perspective on food with every page I read.
Any who, onto the recipe! It’s about time we’ve uploaded a stuffed sweet potato dish, and in good No Eggs or Ham fashion, it’s flavors are inspired by barbecue and Asia. A large purple sweet potato is covered in coconut oil and roasted until it’s fork tender. While the sweet tater’s bake, crumbled tempeh and shredded cabbage are fired up in a sauté pan then mixed with a sweet and salty asian bbq sauce comprised of date hoisin sauce, ketchup, and rice wine vinegar.
This dish is hearty, savory, sweet, satisfying, and perfect for an easy breakfast or dinner (I know this wouldn’t typically be considered ‘breakfast fare’, but it qualifies in my book).
If you like what your taste buds are tellin’ ya, leave behind a nice rating, share your thoughts with us in the comments, or show us your creations by tagging @noeggsorham on Instagram.
All the best,
Ryan & Kim
Asian Barbecue Sweet Potato Boats
Roasted sweet potato boats carry sweet and tangy asian barbecue crumble.
Ingredients
Sweet Potato:
- 1 medium/large sweet potato (purple or garnet [orange] are best)
- 2 tsp virgin coconut oil
Protein Crumble:
- 8 oz organic tempeh, crumbled
- 1/4 medium green cabbage, shredded
- 1/4 cup bean sprouts, chopped in half
- 2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp water
Asian Barbecue Sauce:
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
Garnish:
- 1/4 c shredded greens (I used Nappa cabbage)
Directions
-
Pre-heat oven to 425° F and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Halve the sweet potato vertically, coat each half in coconut oil on all sides, and place on cookie sheet.
- Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and wrap them completely in aluminum foil – this will help the sweet potatoes steam themselves, therefore cooking them faster. Place back in oven for 30 more minutes, or until fork tender.
- To make sauce, whisk together hoisin sauce, ketchup, and vinegar in a small bowl. Relocate 1 tablespoon of sauce to a separate container, to top the dish off once it’s done. Set aside.
- While the sweet potatoes bake, place a medium non-stick or sauté pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add sesame oil, tempeh, cabbage, and a heavy pinch of salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tempeh and cabbage begin to brown.
- Add in bean sprouts, garlic, & ginger, and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Add in all of the sauce – except the 1 reserved tablespoon – and water, and stir in. Turn heat to low and cover until sweet potatoes are finished baking. IF the mixture becomes dry, add in a little more water to moisten it up.
- When the sweet potatoes are finished, place on a plate and mash in the center of the sweet potato halves with a fork, making a dent in the middle to hold the filling.
- Place an equal amount of filling on each sweet potato half and drizzle with reserved tablespoon of sauce and sprinkle with the shredded greens. Serve!
NO EGGS OR HAM 