I got this recipe from a friend, and while it's supposed to be a dish among many dishes in an Indonesian rice table (I think), I mostly cook it when I eat alone, and take it as the main component of my meal, together with some rice and steamed vegetables. it's so, so easy to make, and yet cooking this still leaves me feeling I've taken care of myself by cooking something good. and tasty. tasty! unbelievably tasty.
strangely enough, I never really started eating tofu and tempeh until I wasn't a vegetarian anymore (I know... I know! what did I eat?). tempeh especially used to scare me a little. what do I do with it? how do I cook with it without the result being horribly like eating a sponge? the answer, of course, consists of two words: soy sauce. for those of you who are scared of tempeh like I was, try this recipe! you won't be disappointed.
to avoid genetically manipulated soy, I always buy organic (both the tempeh and the ketjap manis - indeed any type of soy sauce I buy).
tempeh goreng
thanks randy!
you can either start this recipe the morning of the day you want to eat it, or about 15
minutes before you want to eat it. both versions start the same, you cut
the tempeh in small cubes of about 2 by 2 cm. then you can either put them in a bowl of
water and some tamarind paste, and leave to marinate for the day, or you can
skip that step. heat a generous amount of oil in a frying pan, and add the
tempeh, a diced onion and a pinch of salt. fry until the tempeh is a deep golden colour, and the onion is starting to
caramelize. add a minced clove of garlic and let that fry with the tempeh and onion for a minute. then add some demerara sugar (half-white organic caster sugar was what I used, beause it was all I had in the house, and it was just fine, but I can see
how the caramel-y taste of demerara sugar might add a deeper taste to the dish)
- a tablespoon or so, stir to combine, then add two tablespoons of good ketjap manis, stir again, then add a
handful of (roasted, salted) peanuts, stir to combine, and enjoy!
- anne