Tempe, an Indonesian culinary heritage asset

Tempe is food product made from soybeans seed fermented with Rhizopus sp. that has white to grey compact and solid shape. It is not clearly known when the production of tempe was begin, but this traditional food has been known in Java cultural system society since a couple ages ago. Serat Centhini manuscript which setting in Java 16th century, mentions a culinary named jae santen tempe or tempe cooked with coconut milk. The word tempe is guessed from ancient Java language tumpi. There was a white colored food made from sago that named tumpi in ancient Java. Fresh tempe look alike tumpi in color and texture.

I’m still couldn’t understand why in Indonesia, the word tempe has been a connotation to represent something lame and weak. For examples phrase mental tempe means coward, otak tempe (tempe brain) means stupid or fool, and bangsa tempe (tempe nation) means weak nation. The fact is that this fermented soybean has good nutrition and potentials to protect our body from free radicals. According from researchers from Bandung Technology Institute, tempe is the only vegetational protein which has phenyl cluster in its amino acids. Tempe contains diarrhea antibacterial agent and prevents us from heart attack and hypertension because it can reduce blood cholesterol. Some research show that nutrition in tempe is easier to digested than nutrition in soybean. Consumptions of tempe by malnutrition and chronic diarrhea babies and kids are proven cure the patients in short time.

Tempe is commonly consumed in Indonesia, and now has been globally used by vegetarian in many countries as substitute for meat. Some research in Germany, Japan, United Stated, and also Indonesia try to develop superior strain of Rhizopus to produce tempe faster and which has better quality and nutrition. Here is my favorite old Java tempe recipe that I can only find in homemade cooking. The name is Momoh Tempe.

Ingredients:
· 300 grams tempe, cut into bite-size pieces
· 1 eggplant, cut into bite-size pieces
· 500 ml coconut milk
· 5 green chilies, sliced finely
· 2 bay-leaf

Paste
· 5 shallot
· 3 garlic
· 1 tsp. cumin
· 1 tsp. roasted coriander
· 2 tsp. salt
· 1 tsp. roasted shrimp paste
· 2 cm turmeric

Preparation:
· Mix paste with coconut milk, cook in medium heat and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes.
· Put tempe, eggplant, chilies, and bay-leaf and stir occasionally until the coconut milk remain slightly
· You may also put 1 tsp. sugar to make more savory