About Homemade Tempeh Kit

It is a set of high quality tempeh starter (in Indonesia it is called "ragi tempe") produced by AFI (Aneka Fermentasi Indonesia), and an organic soybean "Toyomasari" from Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.

There will be a simple instruction of how to make homemade tempeh in Japanese.

By using this 20 gram, you can make about 10 kg of homemade tempeh.

What is Tempeh

Tempeh is a fermented soybean product that native to Central Java Province, Indonesia.

Like tofu, tempeh is made from soybeans. But tempeh is made by using the whole soybeans, so it has the complete or even greater nutrients from the soybean.

The nutrients contained are proteins, minerals, vitamin B, glucoses (energy), etc. Sometimes it is said that the amount of protein contained in soybeans is almost balanced with meat. Therefore, you can complete your daily nutrients intake by consuming tempeh.

Is Tempeh Good for Your Health?

Yes! Tempeh is known as a food full of nutrients.

There are lots of study saying that tempeh contains lots of nutrients, so it is good for your health. Some studies also show that tempeh nutrients are more easily digested, absorbed, and utilized by the body compared to those in soybeans due to the fermentation process.

One serving of tempeh (100 grams) provides around 200 calories, around 20 grams of protein, around 10 grams of carbohydrates, around 60 grams of water, and more other good substance for your body such as plant fiber, Vitamin B, antioxidant, etc. Tempeh is said to be one of the low-calorie food with a high-fiber, so it is also good to consume tempeh for diet.

What is The Hokkaido Prefecture's
"Toyomasari" Organic Soybean

Toyomasari is a soybean that has a good taste and sweet flavor, so it is also called as "The Soybean Grand Champion". This soybean is suitable for boiled beans because it has a rich delicious flavor. It also suitable for making miso or tofu.

Because the content of sucrose is higher than any other soybeans, you can taste the rich flavor of Toyomasari in various dishes.

It is an organic, pesticide-free, and no chemical fertilizer cultivation soybean from Hokkaido's Prefecture. Made in Makubetsu-cho, Hokkaido for mode than 30 years.

Being harvested when they are completely ripe, these soybeans are rich in nutrients and have fine quality of taste and flavor.

Hirawake Farm・Mr. Yuu Hirawake
「I have raised the bean carefully
with love like my own child」

I have been making organic, pesticide-free beans for more than 30 years in Makubetsu-cho, Hokkaido.
Harvested beans were dried in sunlight without relying on machines, the condensation can bring the sweetness to the beans.
Organic, pesticide-free, non-chemical fertilizer cultivation, and carefully raised with natural drying. The best choice of soybean for tofu. Please try it once.

You can use this Toyomasari Soybean for many dishes because of it's rich, delicious flavor. Please use this for making homemade miso, tofu, or even natto!

What is Tempeh Starter

It is a high quality tempeh starter (in Indonesia it is called "ragi tempe") produced by AFI (Aneka Fermentasi Indonesia) in Indonesia.

Tempeh ("Tempe" in Indonesian) is a traditional soybean fermented food that has been eaten in Indonesia for over 500 years. Like cheese and natto, tempeh has not strong smell and the taste is slightly sweet. It can be used for various dishes.

You can get lots of health benefit from eating tempeh. Besides lowering the cholesterol and blood pressure in the blood, tempeh is also effective as prevention of arthritis and arteriosclerosis, antioxidant action, and some symptom relief such as osteoporosis and menopausal disorder.

By using this 20 gram, you can make about 10 kg of homemade tempeh.

Materials to Make Homemade Tempeh

Materials

• ・ Soybeans (200 grams to 1000 grams *choose your own appropriate amount)
• ・ Tempeh starter (1 gram to 10 grams)
• ・ White Vinegar (100 ml againts 200 grams of soybeans)

More Convenient if you Have

• ・ Warmers such as fermentators device
• ・ Ziplock Plastic
• ・ Plastic Bag
• ・ Toothpick

How to Make Homemade Tempeh

1.　Rinse The Soybeans

Put all the soybean into a bowl. Rinse the beans well without breaking the skin. The dirt on the skin contains a lot of bacteria that would make it difficult to make good tempeh.

Let's rinse it well and remove all the dirt.

2.　Soak The Beans Into Water with White Vinegar

Soak the soybeans with water about 4 times the soybean weight (for example, 2 liters of water if you're using 500 grams of soybeans). The dry soybeans will absorb water and weights about 2.2 times heavier and the volume becomes more than 2.6 times its original volume.

When the water temperature reaches 20℃ or more, microorganism will grow in immersion water. To prevent the increase of microorganisms, let's put the white vinegar to the water.
Put about 50 ml againts every 1 litre of water. So if you are using 2 litres of water, please put about 100 ml of white vinegar.

The immersion time:
・25 hours in winter .............................. Water temperature about 0-5℃
・15 hours in Spring/Autumn ................. Water temperature 10-15℃
・6 hours in Summer (standard time) ..... Water temperature 20-25℃

3.　Peel Off The Soybean's Skin

If there is a thin skin from the soybean, there is a high possibility that the fermentation process will not work well.

So let's peel all the soybean's skin. Rub the beans gently and peel off the skin.
This process takes roughly about an hour.

4.　Simmer The Beans

Put the peeled soybeans into a pot, add the desired water and vinegar (1 litre of water with 50 ml vinegar, or 2 litres of water with 100 ml vinegar).
Boil the beans with low heat for about 30 minutes to 60 minutes.

The perfect condition after boiling is the beans will still hard (difficult to crush) even if it is squeezed with your finger. This process is only to make the beans cooked, but not over cooked.

5.　Drain The Beans

Put the simmered soybeans into a drainer and let it cool down. Shake the drainer slowly to fasten the cooling process. Let the temperature until it reaches about 40℃.

Let's drain all the water thoroughly. It will help the fermentation process works well.

6.　Put The Tempeh Starter to The Soybeans

Add 1-10 grams of tempeh starter per 200 grams of cooked soybeans.

Because it is difficult to mix the tempeh starter evenly to every beans, add some flour (can be chestnut powder, parched flour, rice flour) in advance to the tempeh starter. For example, if you put 1 gram of tempeh starter, please add 10 grams of flour into it. Mix the tempeh starter mixture.

Put the cooled soybeans into a big plastic bag and add the tempeh starter mixture, shake the bag well so the tempeh starter will spread evenly.

7.　Move it To Ziplock Bag

Opened some small hole in the bag with toothpick for air ventilation beforehand

Tempeh starter will produce carbon dioxide at the fermentation process. So these air holes are necessary to let the carbon dioxide escape and take some oxygen in. Make the hole at in every 3 cm square.

After finishing the holes, put the soybeans soaked with tempeh starter to the bag. Lightly press the bag to make it even.

If you are using bag such as Ziplock, you can put the finished tempeh later at the refrigerator to preserve it.

8.　The Fermentation Process

Let the soybeans soaked with tempeh starter fermented for about 20-24 hours or until there are many white mycelium covering the soybeans. The most suitable temperature for fermentation is about 32℃. It is useful to have a warm incubator such as fermentor device.

Normally, the white mycelium will be visible in about 16 hours. The white mycelium will cover the surface of soybean and make a solid block shape. The tempeh will be complete with it is solidifies.

The Preservation of Tempeh

After the fermentation process is finished, you can store the finished tempeh in refrigerator for another 48 hours. Refrigerator let to stop the fermentation process and prevent the tempeh to decay in certain time.
If you continue to store it at room temperature, you must cook it maximumly in the next 24 hours.

Making Homemade Tempeh's Q & A