Sesame Tempeh Stir-Fry with Mushrooms, Baby Corn and Brown Rice

1. Rinse the rice and cook it in a pan of boiling water for 25 to 30 minutes, until tender. Drain well and leave in the sieve to steam dry.
2. Meanwhile, put the tempeh in a steamer basket or a covered colander over a pan of simmering water and steam for 10 minutes. This takes away the slightly bitter edge tempeh can have and helps it soak up the sauce. Pat dry.
3. Mix the tamari, maple syrup, water, garlic and ginger in a small bowl.
4. Heat half the rapeseed oil in a large non-stick frying pan or wok over a medium-high heat. Fry the tempeh for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden. Add 1 tablespoon of the sauce and the sesame seeds and toss for 30 seconds, until the sauce has coated the tempeh. Tip onto a plate.
5. Add the rest of the rapeseed oil to the pan with the mushrooms and baby corn and stir-fry for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are browned and the corn is just tender. Add the cauliflower rice and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
6. Add the brown rice and the rest of the sauce and stir-fry for 2 minutes, until everything is steaming hot. Return the tempeh, drizzle with the sesame oil and scatter over the spring onions. Serve straight away.
7. Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours because of the rice. Cool any leftover rice within an hour, keep it in the fridge, eat it within 24 hours and reheat it only once until steaming hot. Not suitable for freezing.

A plate gives you about 32g of protein and 13g of fibre for 547 calories, including the rice. Most of the protein comes from the tempeh.

Why tempeh, not tofu. Tempeh is made from whole soybeans fermented into a firm cake, so it keeps more of the bean. Gram for gram it has more protein and fibre than tofu, and a nutty, savoury flavour that browns well in a hot pan.

Half rice, half cauliflower. Mixing brown rice with cauliflower rice keeps the grain texture of fried rice while cutting the carbohydrate to 45g a plate. Cauliflower soaks up the sauce and adds volume for very few calories.

Why it is tagged for menopause and blood sugar. Soya foods contain isoflavones, plant compounds studied for hot flushes. The trial results are mixed: some women report a small benefit, but soya is not a recommended treatment, so the tag here reflects a good plant protein rather than a remedy. With plenty of protein and fibre and moderate carbohydrate, this plate is unlikely to cause a sharp rise in blood sugar.

Steam the tempeh first. Ten minutes of steaming softens the slightly bitter taste tempeh can have and helps it absorb the ginger and garlic sauce. Use tamari labelled gluten-free; ordinary soy sauce contains wheat. Contains soya and sesame. For more tempeh, try the turmeric tempeh and cauliflower bowl.