Tempeh

Have you ever heard about “Tempeh” ? 😀 Yes it is kind of food 😀

Tempeh or Tempe in Javanese language is a traditional soya bean product originally from Indonesia, yay!! It is made by natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soya bean into a white firm cake form.

Tempeh is very popular on the Java island, everywhere you go, warung (traditional small canteen), cafe restaurant, or at home, Tempeh is a kind of everyday staple source of protein.

Tempeh is made from whole soya bean with a long process with a different nutritional characteristics and textural qualities from Tofu. Due to fermentation process, the live culture gives the whole beans a higher content of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins. Nowadays, Tempeh is a gem for vegans and vegetarians where it is used as a meat analogue.

If you go to Indonesia, to visit the country and do a bit of traditional culinary, try Tempe 🙂 and don’t be surprised that only handful of people know how to make it 🙂 I never knew how to make it until I moved to Cyprus. I used to eat Tempeh every single day,  at least once a day, as I didn’t eat meat that much.

Now, with the help of 21st century technology, I can find (finally!!!) where to buy organic Tempeh culture starter which contains spores of fungus Rhizopus Oligosporus or Rhizopus Oryzae. You can find it here www.tempeh.info

The making.. it was fun… the waiting.. it was not fun.. the chance? 50-50 >.< Lots of reading to do before starting, lots of trial and errors (I threw 1 kg of soya bean already – each batch is 500gr, so I threw 4 batches already), lots of checking, and still learning after I managed to do it 4 times. I still need to find the “click” and its secret technique.

If you are in US, I believe that you can still find it at Indonesian’s market as US has a large Indonesian community.

If you are in UK, try the one in Leather Lane market. The owner is British guy, William, who went to Malang, Indonesia to learn how to make perfect Tempe with the locals for years 🙂 and now he opens a “Warung Tempeh” at Leather Lane market, London 🙂 My sister went there and she said (she’s a food addict!) that the Tempeh is really good, sambal (spicy chili) is so delicious! I will definitely pass by for lunch next time I go to UK!

If you are in Cyprus and you want the taste of it, you can contact me and you will get your Tempeh not less than 3 days 🙂 It’s a delicate process, lots of attention, and happy belly in the end 😀

I will post a simple Tempeh recipe in the next post 😀

Happy day!! x