What is tempeh and how can we cook it?

Within fermented foods and “vegetable meats” there is a very versatile food that is exquisite at the same time: the tempeh.

It is native to Indonesia, where people prepare it at home or buy it from street vendors, who usually have small workshops dedicated to the production of these blocks.

It is known because it contains a good amount of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and manganese.

The most common tempeh is made from soybeans.. The soybeans are soaked, boiled, drained, peeled, and allowed to cool. Then they are mixed with spores of the characteristic fungus of this preparation: Rhizopus oligosporus. They are packed in piles giving it a rectangular shape and incubated at 22-26ºC.

During incubation the fungus ferments, grows, forms a mycelium and unites all the soybeans in a compact whitish block. This block is what we call tempeh.

It does not fall apart unless they have scrimped a lot with the ferment (and with the fermentation times), which makes it ideal for making your stews and stews. The soybeans they are hardly noticeable as a whole, they are not hard or pasty, they are al dente.

Since the legumes are soaked, cooked and fermented and the skin is removed, they tend to sit much better, especially those who are not used to eating legumes (still remember that the best way to stop gassing is to take them more often).

How to cook tempeh

unlike tofu, tempeh is drier, browns faster, has more flavor, and doesn’t fall apart. You have to cut it with a knife. It is also often called “vegetable meat”, although it tastes more like mushrooms and nuts, due to its high protein content (soybean, around 40 grams per 100 g).

It can be eaten as is, fresh. You can cut it into cubes and add it to your salads, for example, although it tastes better browning it a little in the pan or in the oven, adding it to stir-fries, stews and stews, soups, etc.. It absorbs the flavors quite a lot if you give it time, and it doesn’t fall apart during cooking.

Also it works very well if we chop it finely or grate it and sauté it to make vegetable bolognese, cannelloni fillings, pizzas, etc.

In Indonesia they usually prepare it fried: Heat oil in a wok to 175ºC and fry the diced tempeh until golden brown, moving it occasionally. It takes very little, in 3-4 minutes we have a super aromatic tempeh, golden and crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Use it as you would use tofuor other similar ingredients. Cut it into triangles, cubes or slices and brown it before adding it to a stew, soup or other preparation with broth. Grate it to mix it with other more cohesive ingredients and make burgers or meatballs. Or cut up a few slices and brown them with spices for a quick snack.

Tempeh works well with almost all spices and seasonings, but most of all, fermented soy sauces (such as Japanese shoyu), fermented pastes such as misohe garlic in good quantities (better fresh than powdered), the fried onionthe peanuts; and sweet sauces and spicy like kecap manis.

In general it goes very well with strong flavors, but it is equally delicious alone browned with a little salt or in Mediterranean style stews. Try using it in a chickpea stew, adding it to the sauce and letting it soak in.

varieties of tempeh

Tempeh can be made with other legumes, with grains, with seeds, or with a mixture of legumes and grains or seeds. For example, it is becoming very popular chickpea tempehalso exquisite, made with cooked chickpeas and mushrooms.

In Indonesia it is also done tempeh with peanuts (it is a legume after all), with oats, barley, bulgur and soybeans, rice and soybeans, etc.

The tempeh that we can find in vegan stores, herbalists and others usually comes vacuum packed and refrigerated so that it lasts longer. Fresh tempeh lasts 3-4 days in the fridge. The packaging, once opened, the same.

If you prefer, you can freeze it as is. And if you bought it in broth or in a can, take it out, put it in a freezer bag or wrap it well and put it in a container suitable for freezing. It will last you 3 months. You can defrost it by leaving it in the fridge from the night before.