How to make tempeh?
Step 1: Ingredients
It takes about 500 grams of whole soybeans, a few tablespoons of vinegar, and some tempeh starter to make 1 kilogram of tempeh. Tempeh starter contains either Rhizopus oligosporus or Rhizopus oryzae spores, or a mixture of the two. You can buy tempeh starter from TopCultures, they ship worldwide.Step 2: Soaking and Hulling Soybeans
Whole soybeans can be dehulled by soaking the beans in water for 8-14 hours and then removing the hulls by hand. This will split the beans in half and the hulls can be discarded.Step 3: Cook the shelled beans
Place the soybeans in a saucepan and add just enough water to cover the beans. Add the vinegar, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain and place the cooked beans on kitchen towels to drain the excess water and to cool the beans, which are now swollen and soft. It's important that the beans are very dry, otherwise unwanted bacteria can grow and cause off-flavors.Step 4: Inoculate Dehulled Beans
Place the cool, dry beans in a clean container and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of tempeh starter (available at tempeh.com) and mix thoroughly. The exact amount of tempeh starter required is listed on the package of tempeh starter.Step 5: Incubate the beans
Take 2 plastic bags about 18x28 cm and perforate them with a thick but sharp needle about 1 cm apart.Divide the soybeans between the two bags and seal them. Press them flat, making sure that the total thickness of the beans does not exceed 3 cm.
Place the packed beans in an incubator at 30°C or in a warm place for about 24-48 hours or until the container is completely filled with white mycelium and the entire contents can be lifted out as a whole piece. A simple incubator can be made by placing a light bulb in an old refrigerator. Depending on the room temperature, bulbs with different wattages (15W, 25W, ..) can be used, but remember that the tempeh will also produce some heat on its own.
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Before incubation | After incubation |
The fresh tempeh will feel warm and have a pleasant mushroom flavor. The finished tempeh can be stored for 7 days in the refrigerator or a few months in the freezer.
Comments
Peanut tempeh
How to make peanut tempeh?Guest - 25/10/2013
This is from the Book of Tempeh: "Although peanuts are hard to dehull, the delicious tempeh is worth the work. Prepare as for soy tempeh but soak the raw peanuts for 12 to 16 hours after first boil. Split peanuts in halves (or chop) after dehulling, steamin a cloth on a rack over 1 to 2 cups water at 15 pounds in pressure cooker for 10 minutes, then allow pressure to come down naturally. Mix steamed peanuts with steaming water (1 to 2 cups) and vinegar, drain well, and proceed to inoculate and incubate as for soy tempeh."
Wim - 25/10/2013
Wim - 25/10/2013
Astringent taste
Soybeans contain phytochemicals with a bitter and astringent taste, such as isoflavones (mainly genistein) and saponins. Soy protein can be obtained from defatted soybeans in two different ways: alcohol extraction or water extraction. Extraction with alcohol will remove more of these bitter components but results in a less healthy protein as these phytochemicals have been associated with positive health effects in soy. Oxidation of lipids will also increase bitterness.Rob - 01/11/2013
dehulled soybeans for making tempeh
Do you know where i can buy dehulled soybeans in europe?Sari - 01/11/2013
dehulled soybeans for making tempeh
Dehulled soybeans are very difficult to find.Celnat in France sells them. Most tempeh and tofu factories dehull their soybeans themselves or buy containers loads of dehulled soybeans from Canada.
Rob - 01/11/2013
Soya seed hulls
I wonder what are the properties of Soya seed hulls? All I could find is that they are used in animal feed and have a lot of fibre. Is it better to remove them. When making tempeh they are removed before cooking-why is that & why before?DadaVi - 15/11/2013
Soya seed hulls
These hulls are indeed fibre and are indigestible for humans. But they are also not digestible for the Rhizopus molds used in tempeh fermentation. Although soybeans without hulls make the best tempeh, it is possible to make tempeh without removing them. When making tempeh the hulls are removed before the final cooking process, because removing them afterwards will increase the risk of infection.Rob - 15/11/2013
Can one make tempeh with mungo asian beans?
do you know if one can make tempeh with the mungo asian beans? i believe they are green soy beans. so far, i've been using yellow soy beans, and it was working really well!Kim - 21/11/2013
Can one make tempeh with mungo asian beans?
You are 100% correct Rob, in everything you say :-)You have to find a tempeh starter that groes well on starchy substrates. Also bear in mind not to overcook the mung beans and make them quite dry. Starchy beans tend to retain a lot more moisture than soya beans. Try steaming them rather than simmering in boiling water.
Otherwise yeah it's definetly possible. You can also find split mung beans, in indian stores. That would spare you a lot of time.
jimmy - 22/11/2013
any other equally nutritive pulse as soya bean that is worth trying?
I'm studying food processing technologyI'm given a project to work upon a food to increase its self life
I'm interest to try this
I also want to know whether there are any other uses of tempeh
Plzz reply as soon as possible
Please
shivani - 18/01/2014
Who has tried to make tempeh at home?
Just curious, did any of you tried to make tempeh at home? Is it that easy?Peter - 04/09/2015
Who has tried to make tempeh at home?
I got my tempeh starter and instructions from TopCultures. Actually it's very easy. And it's very pleasant to see the tempeh growing. Also fresh tempeh tastes a lot better!Jim - 04/09/2015
bitter after taste
recently with non-gmo soy, almost always bitter, tried to rinse many time n remove as much smaller part of soy but same thing. when i made 1kg was ok, 5 kg bitter again. lastweek made with organic and non-gmo at the same time, organic one was perfect, non gmo was bitter n not fully develop spore. same starter, together in incubator n same quantity. the only difference: organic used SS pot n tray to dry it, non-gmo aluminum pot n tray. I've made many time (old batch of soy)with perfect result, using aluminum from soaking, boiling, drying and incubating. Could be the soy? but 1kg was ok.minx minx - 28/09/2015
ceo
i want to promote soyabean as food to fight malnutrition. i am in pune,india.our area grows lot of soyabean/however nobody eats soya.this can be a good opportunity for joint venture pl help.padmakar deshpande .email SOYASANGH@gmail.compadmakar deshpande - 24/11/2015
resercher
I want some tempeh starter culture for my test sampleswijesiri muththettowage - 06/12/2015
soy-free tempeh starter
Does anyone know if I can buy soy-free tempeh starter directly from Europe? I live in Europe and I rather buy locally than have it shipped from the US or Indonesia.D lovgren - 15/03/2016
soy-free tempeh starter
I know that Topcultures sells soy-free tempeh starter to industrial clients, not sure if they all sell it in small quantities.Leonard - 18/03/2016
dehulled soybeans for making tempeh
Two source of slit soybeans:1) Amazon.de. Search for "Raitip Sojabohnenkerne, geschält".
2) Deshima
Rob - 25/05/2016
WHERE IS READYMADE TEMPEH?
Hi, I have been looking for readymade tempeh in Mumbai. Does anybody know where I can get it please.Thank you.girija - 17/03/2017
Using sprouted raw garbonzos
Is cooking necessary before inoculation? I know in mushroom production a cut log must be left for a few weeks for its natural fungicide to dissipate before introducing spawn. Would something similar be true for sprouted substrate or can I use soaked and sprouted beans as is without boiling or steaming?Guinn - 19/03/2017
Using sprouted raw garbonzos
Yes, you have to cook substrate to kill all foreign molds and bacteria. Even if the end result looks like tempeh you don't know what mold is growing, some of them produce toxins.Kim - 27/03/2017
tempeh and Joey Alexander
you have make a perfect step by step tempe/tempeh, you must try without vinegar, it will more delicious and if you eat tempeh routinely may be you will have a son/daughter like Joey Alexander or Diki Suryaatmaja.joko - 01/04/2017
Why do the soybeans need to be dehulled? I made tempeh before I read about this and did not dehull the soybeans, and the tempeh came out just fine. What am I missing?
Veggietater - 06/05/2017
Veggietater - 06/05/2017
Steaming tempeh
I am making tempeh and decided to steam it instead of boiling...and suddenly came to me I missed the step no vinegar.Should I continue or through tho batch out?Appreciate your answer
Bobb - 23/07/2017
Adding vinegar
When should I add vinegar to the beans? During the cooking process or after cooking and cooling of the beans (before adding the starter)? I find very conflicting info on the internet. Some don't add vinegar at al.Luca - 23/07/2020
Adding vinegar
Adding vinegar to the boiling water is the best option. Then all beans will be equally acidified. Even better is to let the soybeans acidify naturally in the soak water, like they do in Indonesia. Growth of micro‐organisms in soak water results in a decrease in pH value of the cooked beans.Eduardo - 07/08/2020
uncooked okara to make tempeh
i using okara to make tempeh....can the okara uncooked to make tempehchin yh - 07/09/2020
uncooked okara to make tempeh
You have to cook okara to kill all bad bacteria. This is very import since okara can be very moist. I always heat to okara in a skillet for a few minutes. At the same time the okara gets drier.Christine - 19/02/2022
Tips for making better tempeh
When making tempeh I always add a few spoons of freshly roasted sesame seeds. The seeds should not be roasted too much, only enough to sterilize the seeds. This gives a nice nut taste and by absorbing moisture it reduce the risk of failure due to microbiological growth.scott - 19/02/2022
Drying beans
I put the drained beans back in the pan and cook them for about 1-2 minutes, stirring. Now the beans are completely dry and success is guaranteed! This is more hygienic than putting the beans on a towel.Pierre - 12/02/2023
Making tempeh from spouted soy beans
I have access through my local farmers market for fresh sprouted soy beans. Will these work the same as the dry for the method on your website. My customers would freak out about house made tempeh.Justin - 24/10/2013