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Tempeh is a firm block of cooked soya beans fermented with a mould culture, from Java. Nutty and savoury – marinate, then fry, bake or curry it. Contains soya.
Tempeh comes from Indonesia (Java, to be precise). Over the centuries it has gone from a traditional staple to one of the most popular plant proteins in fitness and nutrition circles. Once you know how to handle it, you may never go back to plain tofu. Tofu is made from curdled, pressed soya milk; traditional tempeh, by contrast, is made from whole, cooked soya beans. These whole beans are inoculated with a mould culture (usually Rhizopus oligosporus), then left to ferment for about 48 hours somewhere warm and humid. During that time the mould grows a dense white mycelium that knits the loose beans into a firm block you can slice – and it changes the beans along the way.
Per 100g, tempeh compares well with tofu and, on some micronutrients, even with meat:
Pulses, and soya beans in particular, naturally contain so-called "antinutrients" such as phytic acid and lectins. Phytic acid binds minerals such as iron and zinc very tightly, so less of them is available when you eat the beans. Fermentation breaks a large part of the phytic acid down: the mould produces phytase, an enzyme that splits the acid and releases the bound minerals. In a sense, the mould pre-digests the heavy carbohydrates and tough proteins – much like the cultures in a traditional sourdough bread. The result: less of the iron and zinc in tempeh is locked up by phytic acid than in unfermented beans.
Fresh tempeh is heated when you cook it, which kills the live mould cultures – so it isn't a source of live cultures on your plate. What it does bring is fibre from the broken-down soya cell walls. Tempeh also contains plenty of isoflavones, plant compounds often called phytoestrogens. Studies have not found that they raise the risk of the cancers people sometimes worry about in connection with soya.
Raw tempeh has an earthy, slightly nutty, almost mushroomy flavour of its own. The most common beginner's mistake is to treat it like meat and fry it plain – then it often tastes bitter. The trick: tempeh works like a dry sponge. Cut it into thin slices (about 5mm) or small cubes. Steam the cubes for 10 minutes (this opens up the texture and takes the edge off the bitterness). Then marinate them for at least 1 hour – for example in plenty of soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, a little maple syrup, smoked paprika and freshly crushed garlic. When you then fry the marinated tempeh until crisp, the marinade caramelises on the rough surface – the highlight in flavour and texture for Asian-style bowls, salads or sandwiches.
In parts of Asia, and with home-fermented tempeh, people occasionally do. In Europe and North America, the usual advice is to cook packaged tempeh from the shop for at least a few minutes – boil it, steam it well or cook it through – to deal with any unwanted bacteria. Raw tempeh doesn't taste that good either.