Recipe:Tempeh making manual - short workshop form

Tempeh Making Manual

(for 500 g of soy beans, short workshop form)

Active culture

• tempeh starter (Rhizopus oligosporus) 0.5-1 % (w/v) = 2.5-5 g (+- one teaspoon)

Ingredients

• soybeans (dried) - 500 g
• winegar - 5 ml or one soup spoon
• rice or other flour - 6 g

Equipment

• 1x 3 l bowls for washing and soaking the beans
• pressure cooker to boil or steam the beans
• spoon or spatula for measuring and mixing
• ventilator or hair fan to dry the beans
• 0.5 l small bowl to mix the flour and tempeh starter
• 1.5-2 l plastic bag for fermentation of the culture
• something sharp to make holes in the bag like tooth pick
• incubator or room temperature over 25°C

Working manual

- transfer the 500 g of beans into the bowl and rinse it few times with water disposing the wash

- after that add around 2 l of water to the beans and let to soak for 8-12 hours, depending on temperature

- dispose the water and rinse twice or so

- add 2 l of water and use pressure of your palm on the soybeans loosening their husks

- flush the husks away with more water repeating this till removing over 70% of the husks

- move the beans to the pressure cooker and cook for 20 to 30 minutes till soft

- check the softness by pressing the bean, it should be easy to squeeze but not too mushy

- strain the water from the beans and move them into the bowl spreading them thin

- use the ventilator or hair fan to dry the beans moving them around with spoon

- once the beans are mostly dry on the surface add 5 ml of vinegar and mix it thoroughly

- separately in a small bowl mix properly 3 g of the tempeh starter with 6 g of rice flour

- add the mixture to the beans spraying it over them and mix well, every bean shout get in contact with the starter

- take a vinyl bag and make holes in it with toothpick, 2 cm spaces in between them

- move the whole mix into the bag and form it into a layer not more than 3 cm thick

- wrap the end of the bag and move the mix to the incubator or place where it ferments

- within 24-48 hours the bean mix should be white on outside and firm to hold as a “board”, when cut whole scission should be well grown though around the beans by the fungal mycelia

- move tempeh into the container and store at cold (fridge 4°C) , consume within a week

- black dots which will form on the white surface are spores and they are fine to eat

Sample Cooking Recipe

- prepare a marinade of your favourite flavour similar to the one for marinating meat for example

- example: 10 ml of soy sauce, 20 g of light brown sugar (dissolved in minimum of hot water), 20 g of grinder ginger, 5 ml of citrus juice, mix all together

- take the tempeh and cut it with knife to 1 cm strips of variable length

- transfer the tempeh strips into the container and add the marinade, try to submerge the pieces

- let to marinate at cold for day or even longer or for shorter period at room temperature

- heat up a bit of oil on a pan and transfer the marinated tempeh into it (with bit of marinade)

- fry for 5-10 min making sure by cutting and tasting the strips that they are completely done

- serve the tempeh preferably warm in a similar manner like you would meat or tofu etc.

- enjoy!

Contributed by Algoldor and Dancing Drops associated group, if you have any questions please ask!