Sesame Garlic Noodles with Broccoli & Crispy Tempeh | The First Mess (2024)

This recipe has been part of our regular rotation for a long time. Great flavour and wonderful for lunch the next day. I’m looking forward to it tonight!

I am *lazy* so I used frozen broccoli. I also didn’t have noodles, so I tossed the broccoli and tempeh in the sauce and then served it over rice. It was great!

I am always on the hunt for nutritious meals I can easily add to my meal prep rotation and this is definitely going on the list! I also recently became obsessed with tempeh so obviously I love this. It was super easy to make with most of the ingredients being pantry staples in my house. I used an 8oz bag of shirataki spaghetti which was perfect for an Asian style recipe and cut the calories down immensely. Since it wasn’t quite 3/4 lb I just increased the broccoli. Only other changes I made was adding some lime zest to the sauce for an extra lime kick, and I didn’t have any green onion so I actually cooked down a sliced sweet onion in oil and added that in, if you love onions then definitely add that step! And then I fried the tempeh in the same pan as the onions so it’d get more of that good flavor. I don’t think I’d change a thing! Oh I also didn’t have anything but dried basil on hand so I omitted that. I got three good servings out of this! Dinner tonight and 2 easy work lunches.

This recipe was so easy and yielded a delicious result! This is good hot or cold, and for serving a put a little bit of chili crisp on it. Next time I think I’ll marinade the tempeh and then put it in the air fryer to use a bit less oil. I cut the tempeh into strips and then steamed it over a simmering pot of water for about 8-10 minutes. The tempeh did not fall apart, as I thought it might. I think it was easier to cut then steam the tempeh as opposed to steaming then cutting. Thank you for a wonderful easy recipe.

This recipe is definitely a winner in my family.

This recipe has become a regular in my household. Delicious, simple, quick to put together and easy to take leftovers to work because its amazing both hot and cold. Thanks!

This was so easy and so good! whipped up quick with some thai basil from the back yard for an awesome lunch.

Just made this, YUM! I used soba noodles and stirred them in with the tempeh and sauce.

Thanks for this recipe! Made it with rice noodles and was really happy with how it turned out (so was my boyfriend who doesn’t love eating vegetarian). I’ve never tried steaming and then searing tempeh, but I like the sound of it. Do you have any tips for this?

Somehow I have all these ingredients on hand! Thank you so much!

I made this last night!- delicious and easy! I might make a bit more sauce to use on the leftovers tonight. Yum!

This recipe was so delicious! The dressing ratios were right on point (salty nutty tangy with a bit of sweet) and I loved blanching the broccoli with the noods to make it super quick. Thanks Laura!

Love the recipes, pix are gorgeous. Do us a favor, however, and increase your font size. It’s a deterrent.

I usually don’t like tempeh much unless it’s in a dragon bowl at a restaurant.
Well… I LOVED THIS DISH! Thank you!

I feel like you are always so articulate about these things! I really love and appreciate your honesty here. I feel like as a pretty small and new blogger and I am always trying to play catch up, and social media is such a big part of that, but something that also creates stress/envy/bad vibes. I am going to make a big effort to listen to myself more! Thanks, Laura! <3

I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful the photos are! I agree that Instagram can be addicting and a bit toxic if you abuse its algorithmic structure. The scenario of “if it doesn’t add, it subtracts” is definitely true!

Thanks so much for this yummy recipe. Made it last night and we loved it. My 5 year old ate every bite!

I am in full support of stepping back from Instagram!!! I love everything you said. I feel like Instagram can take over your entire day, business, and life if you try to keep up with it. Keep being you! I love it, I will definitely be checking in on your blog. Thanks for the quality content and REALness.

I’ve never heard that before, but I love it – “If it doesn’t add, it subtracts.” Very wise words. I’ve been slowly moving away from instagram as it’s really been stressing me out (i.e. hashtags, how many followers I have, etc), and I never got into snapchat in the first place. It doesn’t add, so it subtracts! :p

Hi! loved your thoughts about the Instagram and snapchat stories! I think we are molding into a society that tries to force everyone into maintaining an online presence, which can be rewarding but takes us away from the real stuff happening in the moment! A reminder to visit the present moment more often. :) The noodles look great!

Your photo skills are amazing…wow! This recipe looks delicious…can’t wait to try.

Frankly, I think the Snapchat/IG Stories-like apps encourage anxiety & compulsion by creating a false sense of urgency relating toward checking social media: If you don’t check regularly, you might miss something! I am severely disappointed in the lack of ethics among gaming & app developers, who are more interested in creating technology that people “won’t be able to live without” in order to increase their bottom line, instead of creating technology that actually enhances people’s lives.

I feel you on those Instagram stories, and appreciate you honest thoughts here Laura <3. As someone who is also really sensitive to overstimulation too, trying to figure out the SM balance personally + professionally is really tough. But you are encouraging me to go with my gut here, thank you! And this noodle dish sounds innnnncredible girl! Broccoli is my favorite, and I love what you've done with that tempeh ;). Hugs and cheers to less screen time – xo

I feel exactly the same, it’s too much! Not into Instagram stories at all. The more time I feel forced on one app, the more time I end up away from it. Spending too much time looking into others lives and not in my own, and it just doesn’t feel right. Loving this noodle bowl :)

I feel these feels so hard right now! Once I get done watching Snapchat, I feel like I have to move onto Stories..then there’s regular Insta, then Facebook..ahhh!! I need to start giving up on a few and just chilling on the screen time :) In love with those noodles chica, that broccoli is calling my name!

dude, i am not a fan of how all these stupid social media apps are turning out. i’m barely on instagram anymore, it stresses me out way too much. and if i’m being honest, it all looks the same now? it’s hard to find people who are truly innovating and inspiring. sigh. can we all go back to just blogging??

Holy cow this is like all my fav ingredients in one recipe! Amazing!

SO many good points you make here, Laura! We just started getting into the groove of things with Snapchat, and then Stories came out, and now we are kind of at a loss :) And I do find those apps taking up way too much time. What I like about them is getting the ‘raw,’ unfiltered view into the lives of people I admire over the internet, and I do think it might make readers feel more connected as well.
Anyways, these noodles look amazing! Never seen tempeh captured in a more appetizing way.

Excellent. I have a packet of tempeh in the fridge too. Yum!

Never eaten tempeh but looking at this dish I feel like running to our local shop to have a look if they sell it so I could make it!