TEMPEH STARTER or RAGI TEMPE

To all tempeh lovers...

We have tempeh starter for those who would like to try and make homemade tempe. There is nothing more delicious than a fresh tempe. :p

Type: Ragi Tempe (or Tempe Starter)

Price (excluding postage):

• 10g= £3.00
• 30g= £8.00
• 50g= £13.00

2 grams of the tempeh starter would innoculate approximately 1 kg of soya beans.

Please let me know how many bag you want. Payment could be made through Paypal or Direct debit to me. The total postage costs will be given before you accept the order and are based on quantity of the order and country of destination.

Discount: Order 100g or more (in one order), further discount of 20% will be given.

FREE TEMPEH STARTER

We are offering FREE SAMPLE of the starter for those interested to try (excluding postage charge).

Please email at kedaiperantauan@yahoo.com and ask.
We are convinced that you will find the pleasure of making and eating your homemade tempe.

MAKING TEMPEH

Steps in Making Tempeh

Ingredients:

1. Soya Beans - 1kg
2. Tempeh Starter - 2g or 1/2 teaspoon
3. A Bit of Luck (at first until you get the hang of it)

Preparations:

Soak the soya beans overnight. Break the beans for dehulling purpose. Wash thoroughly and remove the hulls as much as possible.





Boil for 45 min- 1 hour. Remove any excess soya bean hulls. Do not worry if you have some left.







Dry the soya beans thoroughly. You can leave it be to dry naturally or cook it a little bit (donot overdone it) or use a fan (we use this way).







Afterwards, mix the dry beans with the tempeh starter. 2grams of our tempeh starter can innoculate about 1 kg of soya beans.









Using a sandwich bag, (punchure the bag 1-2cm in horizontal and vertical pattern), pack the soya beans. Thickness would depend on individual taste. We like it around ~10mm deep.





Press the bag firmly and flat.

(you do not need to use the rolling pin)






Place the bag in a warm area (~30celcius). eg boiler room or near the heater until it start to sweat by it's own (normally after 8-12hours). Remove or switch off the heat source and place the bag at room temperature. Warning- too hot temperature after it start to innoculate (sweat) will result in a rotten tempeh.
In 36-48 hours, the tempeh should be surrounded by white mold that make up the tempeh.

Fresh tempeh is best cooked within a day or two (recommended) or 1 week if kept refrigerated. Frozen tempeh can last for 1 month, the taste will deterioated after that.





Congratulations you have succesfully made a tempeh.....

FAQ in Tempe Making Process

How do you know when the soya bean is dry and ready to be mixed with the starter?
Dry -when you put the soya beans on your palm it does not stick to it.

Do we need to have a boiler room to make tempe?
Nope, placing it near the radiator would be sufficient. During summer, you can just leave the soya beans to incoculate in closed room (just cover the soya beans with a cloth/towel). However the time the tempe would be ready would be different under the two condition (more heat during the intial 12 hours, the faster the tempe innoculating).

Do we need to remove all the soya beans hull?
Nope unless you are a very meticulous and patience person. Or buy a dehulled soya beans.
We also sell cracked soya beans (we did not remove the hull)- but it makes it a lot easier, just scoop the hull during rinsing or boiling.

Do we need to add vineger when boiling the soya bean?
No really, the effect is similar either way.

How long is shelf life of the tempe starter?
Usually 6-12months depending on the time of production. But if place in cooler storage it can be more than that.

How long is the shelf life of tempe?
When the tempe is ready (full of white mould), it usually takes 26-48 hours before it starts to develop black spots (you still can eat it- no difference in taste but it doesnot look nice). Not sure how to answer this question because i never leave the tempe outside for more than 48 hours. Frozen tempe can lasts for months so i was told but again we always finished our tempe within a week it is frozen.

But as i said before, tempe is best cooked and eaten fresh!

~~~Hope the FAQ helps! Good luck in your tempeh making...~~

FAQ in Tempe Making Process- PART II

Is there any other way to remove the hull?
Yes, use food processor to break the soya beans (after Step1). Not too much, just enough to crack the beans (dont want it to get too mushy). Scoope the floating hulls during boiling process.

Can you explain the warning part in Step 7: Warning- too hot temperature after it start to innoculate (sweat) will result in a rotten tempeh.
When the tempe start to sweat ( the tempe has started to produce its own heat), remove it from the source of heat (or switch off your heater).

Do we need to puncure the bag 1-2cm in horizontal and vertical pattern.
After much trial and error, we are confident that it doesnot need that much of holes. 8-12 holes through and through disperse around the plastic bag is sufficient enough.

TEMPE or TEMPEH

Tempe or tempeh is one of our main product (for the time being), locally home-grown produced from our humble kitchen in Loughborough. Started as a request from my wife, as she's craved for a fresh tempe not frozen as the one sold in the Chinese shop (might be due to her pregnancy because before this she doesn't even looked at it). And once the news about the tempe making spread out to our friend in the Malay community's in Loughborough, it become a friends-requested business.

As we are away from the our home-country and getting a fresh supply of Malay's delicacy (tempe is one of it )- is a bit difficult (unless you try and do it your self), it become an instant hit with our friends.

We try to ensure that our customer get a fresh tempe everytime and therefore ensuring our tempe is of best quality in an overall term especially the taste.

Prospective buyers please note that we cannot cater a last minute order. All order must be made at least 4 days earlier.

We only accept order within 25 miles radius of Loughborough with a minimum of 50-100 tempe to get it delivered and the price will be slightly different (as it include the delivery charges etc).

We are still tempting to find the best way to deliver fresh tempe outside the area. At the meantime, we are now promoting people to make their own fresh tempe in the comfort of their own home.