Directions

1. Tempeh: Whisk the tamari, water, garlic, ginger, maple syrup, thyme, sesame oil, and cayenne in a heavy 12-inch frying pan. Add the tempeh pieces so that they are in a single layer. Bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 10 minutes, turning the tempeh slices over after the first 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside until the mixture is cool, about 25 minutes.
2. Using the pulse button, finely chop the pecans in a food processor until they are as broken down as possible without turning them into a paste. (If you overprocess the nuts, their high oil content will turn them into a paste, so be careful not to do that.) Add the cornmeal and pulse until the mixture has a nice even texture without any large chunks of pecans. Add the salt and white pepper.
3. Place the spelt flour, soy milk, and cornmeal-pecan mixture in 3 separate pie plates. Working with 1 piece of cooled tempeh at a time, coat the tempeh triangles in the spelt flour, then dunk them in the soy milk, and finally, roll them in the cornmeal-pecan mixture to coat completely.
4. Pour enough oil into a large, heavy frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 350°F on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches, fry the breaded tempeh triangles until they are crisp and golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain the excess oil.
5. Sweet Potatoes: Place the sweet potatoes in a large saucepan of water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and cook the potatoes until they are tender, about 30 minutes. Drain well.
6. Place the sweet potatoes in a food processor or blender. With the machine running, add the coconut milk and the toasted shredded coconut and blend until the puree is as smooth as possible. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
7. To Serve: Spoon the sweet potatoes onto plates and place the tempeh alongside.