Favorite marinades for lacto/ovo vegetarian foods

I suppose the marinade might be the same for meat or nonmeat things but I would like them especially for tempeh and vegetables...and my cubed strained yogurt cheese?

I want to learn how...maybe general guidelines too?

Our default simple marinade is olive oil and black pepper. I also get a lot of use out of gochujang and shoyu on tempeh and tofu. I also adore blended sichuanese pickles. Sometimes I add lime juice to any of those or just blend it with a bulb of garlic.

I'm excited to see what people with more experience get up to.

Lime juice with cumin, coriander, black pepper, and olive oil for a “middle eastern” flavor.

Basaltic vinegar, olive oil,  and basil or rosemary good for eggplant or mushrooms, especially with portobellos.

Soy sauce, sesame oil, red chilis, and rice wine vinegar for tofu.  Maybe a bit of sugar also.

Thanks both mk and christopher!

Proportions are variable then?

We used to always have soy sauce or shoyu...either would definitely give the tempeh a boost...and limes! I love them...this is just the incentive I need to get some again

How long in the marinade?
Is overnight too long? In the refrigerator?

And Christopher...what is gochujang and what are the blended sichuanese pickles you mention?

Yeah, proportions are just whatever feels right. It's hard to mess this up too badly. Too much salt is the only risk, and then it's probably only a big deal with spongy things like mushrooms.

I try to marinate for an hour or more. Three days isn't too long, but there's a point of diminishing returns. Some people vacuum-marinate, but I haven't done that.

Gochujang is a paste of korean chiles and soy and whatever other stuff. These days, I can buy it at any full-service grocer, or you could order it: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=gochujang

The Sichuanese pickles that I purchase are pictured below, but you could also blend pao cai and chile oil for a similar effect.

Also, I neglected to suggest dark sesame oil. It's like lime in that you can mix and match it with anything. Miso is like that too, to amp up the umami.

I usually just marinate while I’m preparing other food, not for very long.

I have noticed if I do the vinegar marinade as long as overnight, it’s almost like the vegetables don’t even need cooking.

I like to cook Korean/Chinese inspired food, so my marinades often contain these elements:
- gochujang for the spicyness (with a hint of sweetness, plus umami)
- soy sauce for saltiness, umami
- a sweet component like sugar, maple syrup
- a tangy component like lime juice or black chinese vinegar or Mirin
- crushed garlic because garlic is a given
- probably some fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley
- maybe some roasted sesame oil but the flavour is very distinct and is not always desired

Alternatively I would use olive oil, some lime rind and juice, honey, garlic, ginger, rosemary or huacatay (a Peruvian herb from the tagetes family)

Yesterday I marinated soft boiled eggs in soy sauce, sesame oil, some crushed chilis, maple syrup, black vinegar, sliced shallot and garlic, diluted with a bit of water. Marinate at least 2 hours or overnight, very good in Ramen or with rice.