An unique soybean product

I love eating Tempe, and especially sambel goreng tempe or tempe penyet. Ever wondered about this delicious addition to the meals you buy in Indonesia at the warungs or from the kaki lima?

Tempe is unique amongst soy foods, is a fermented soybean cake that’s high in B vitamins and valued for its health benefits as well as its nutty. An ever popular and versatile ingredient in Indonesian dishes, it represents a food that has evolved in the archipelago and within Indonesia has become synonymous with Indonesian traditional cookery. Tempe is the soul of village food to the Javanese.

In Indonesia, tempe is eaten by all sectors of the population; in villages and cities alike, but because it is cheap and, in Java, easy to find, it is often used as a substitute to meat among the majority of low-income groups. In fact, in a country where meat is expensive and often of dubious quality, tempe is an excellent high protein substitute to meat or fish, without the need for scrupulous hygiene or expensive refrigeration.

If you ask an Indonesian how he prefers his tempe cooked, he would most likely say “tempe goreng”, or deep fried tempe seasoned in garlic, salt and coriander. This is how Indonesians most often prepare tempe, eaten as a side dish to the main meal, a snack, or as a filling meal in itself. In this form it is also often served in the small restaurants or road-side warungs throughout Indonesia as golden-brown bite size pieces of savoury fried tempe, best when still warm and crispy….