Jakarta - Wherever you go in Indonesia, you will almost always be able to find some variety of tempe. There is, among others, tempe gembus, which is made from the sediment left over from the tofu-making process, and tempe benguk, made from the benguk bean. But the most popular and well known tempe is that made from soybeans.
Surely you have seen tempe in traditional markets, supermarkets or other places where they sell traditional foods.
Tempe is usually molded into rectangular blocks that appear to be covered in a whitish "blanket" of what looks like shredded cotton, which is caused by fermentation.
Sometimes tempe is wrapped in banana leaves, which is the most traditional wrapping, or plastic.
Tempe is a very interesting food that can be used as an ingredient in many interesting dishes, snacks and even cakes.
Tempe is said to be a Javanese invention and has already gone worldwide in the culinary sense. As a guest lecturer in Townsville, Australia, many years ago, I wanted the students to make a dish from tempe and asked whether they knew or had heard of it.
The whole class was amused and answered that they had already tasted fried tempe.
But like many other foods, traditionally made tempe has undergone many changes.
The most traditional way of preparing tempe is to slice it into pieces and season it with some salt and ground coriander, then fry it to accompany a staple.
After it was discovered that tempe had excellent nutritional value, it became more widely consumed.
Tempe forms the basic ingredient of many tasty dishes. For example, one can make a tempe loaf, American style; add it to minced meat for a sauce Bolognaise with tempe cubes for spaghetti; or can prepare a Chinese Sichuan-style hot tempe stir-fry.
As a product of fermentation, tempe requires a fungus to be processed. The physical quality of tempe is determined on the kind of fungus used, such as the Rhizopus oligosporus, which is always found in good quality tempe.
The spores of this fungus develop fast and become black in color when excessively exposed to air. Another fermentation fungus that is also used in quality tempe is the Rhizopus oryze fungus, which takes longer to develop, but will still end up white in color.
One of the so-called "white" tempe products is the renowned Malang tempe.
Intensive research by nutritionists has found that tempe made from soybeans has many healthy characteristics and is an excellent source of protein.
Research analysis of tempe found that in a 100 g piece of tempe made from soybeans, there were 149 calories, 18.3 g of protein, 4.0 g of fat, 12.7 g in carbohydrates, 129 mg of calcium, 154 mg of phosphor, 10.0 mg of iron, 50 SI of vitamin A, 0.17 mg of vitamin B1 and 64.0 g of water.
One of the most important components of tempe is its high vitamin B-12 and fiber content. Tempe from soybeans can also reduce cholesterol (Prof. C. R. Sirtori, Milan, Italy).
Tempe made from soybeans is great to add to your daily meals, though some people are still of the opinion that because of its relatively cheap price, tempe is not of good quality -- and that people who consume it are manusia tempe, meaning somebody with poor health.
On the contrary, most manusia tempe, or people who regularly consume tempe, are in good health. As was the case with my late gardener. He consumed tempe cooked the traditional way on a daily basis. At over 70 years of age he still worked from early in the mornings until the evenings and became "as old as Methusalem".
RECIPES
1. TEMPE MERAH HIJAU
A colorful, nutritious dish
Ingredients:
200 g fresh tempe, cut into thin slices of 6 x 2 cm
6 red chilies, cut open vertically, discard seeds
6 green chilies, cut open vertically, discard seeds
100 g rice meal
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
100 ml medium-thick coconut milk
200 ml frying oil, for frying
Method:
1. Mix rice meal, garlic, coriander, sugar, salt and coconut milk.
2. Put each time a tempe slice between a red and green chili and coat with the rice meal mixture.
3. Fry the chilies and tempe until done, drain.
4. Serve as is or with a sauce to your liking.
Makes: 6 servings
2. PERKEDEL TEMPE
Tempe fritters
Ingredients:
200 g fresh tempe, mashed
150 g minced chicken
3 shallots, mashed
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt or to taste
2 tbs chopped selederi (local celery)
24 satay skewers
1 egg, beaten
200 ml frying oil, for frying
Method:
1. Mix tempe and minced chicken.
2. Season with shallots, garlic, pepper, coriander, cumin, and salt. Add selederi. Mix well.
3. Divide into 12 parts.
4. Take each time 2 skewers and put the mashed tempe mixture around it.
5. Coat with beaten egg and fry until brownish.
Makes: 6 servings
3. TEMPE KINCA
Tempe with a thick palm sugar coating.
(An interesting snack anytime)
Ingredients:
300 g tempe, cut into thin slices
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt or to taste
50 ml cold water
200 ml frying oil, for frying
250 g gula merah (palm sugar), cut into slices
150 ml water
A pinch of salt
Method:
1. Make a paste of garlic and salt, pour in water and coat the tempe with the paste.
2. Fry the tempe slices until crispy. Drain.
3. Boil the palm sugar with water until completely dissolved.
4. Sieve the boiled sugar and return to the pan, lower flame and continue to boil until thick.
5. Season with salt.
6. Baste each fried tempe slice with the thick sugar sauce.
Makes: 6 servings
4. BAPEL TEMPE
Tempe waffles, good for brunch or a Sunday breakfast
Ingredients:
150 g fresh tempe, cut into small cubes
150 g carrots, cut into small cubes
50 g bawang bombai (onions), finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 chili paddy, finely chopped
30 ml frying oil, for stir-frying
1 red tomato, finely cut
100 ml water
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
12 slices of white bread
1 tbs margarine or butter, for greasing
Method:
1. Stir-fry onion, garlic and chili paddy (when used) until aromatic.
2. Add tomato, carrots and tempe and continue stir-frying.
3. Pour in water and season with salt, continue until done, then divide in to 12 parts.
4. Cut each slice of bread diagonally and top with tempe mixture and top with another slice.
5. Close waffle iron and proceed until waffle is brownish and done.
6. Serve with tomato or chili sauce to your liking.
Makes: 6 servings
Source: www.thejakartapost.com (3 September 2007)
