KERING TEMPEH
CRISPY AIR-FRIED “DRIED” TEMPE KERING
TOSSED IN A SWEET & SPICY GLAZE
FROM THE HOME OF TEMPEH, INDONESIA
You’ll have a tempeh tantrum when you realise what you’ve been missing out on.
Tempeh originates from Indonesia where it is spelt ‘Tempe’, so we’ll switch to that spelling from here.
Let’s face it, a lot of us have been robbed of good tempe. I, too, spent years staunchly sitting in the “I just don’t like tempe” camp as so many people who too, try raw, uncooked tempe as part of some creative salad in a vegan cafe and write it off too soon. This ingredient (like meat, like tofu, like seitan) sings once it’s deep fried. Just like what emerging from a cheap massage in Bali does for your soul, spending a bit of time warm and oiled up gives tempe a new lease on life.
Enter Tempe Kecap/Kering Tempeh/Tempe Kering. It’s commonly found this way served in Indonesia’s Nasi Campur (mixed rice) dish.
So fall in love with tempe I did, only after trying it in this form. Liz Miu and I have hosted two “Tempeh Nation Celebration” vegan foodie tours of Bali alone, born on the back of learning just how good tempe truly is when you try how those who invented it, cook it: deep fried to the point of near annihilation.
So what is it?
You could find similar dishes called ‘Tempe Kecap’, ‘Tempe Goreng’, ‘Tempe Kering’ or ‘Kering Tempeh’ - it’s deep fried and spicily sauced tempeh. Tempeh/Tempe is a fermented soy bean (or many beans, but soy is very popular) protein that originates from Indonesia. In this iteration, you cut the tempe into small matchstick pieces and deep fry them intensely until there’s not a wick of moisture left. These dried out/fried out, crispy sticks are then cooked in sauce which adds flavour.. but they don’t lose the incredibly crispy texture in there. How good’s that?
Why is it 'Kering’ (dried) Tempeh?
When cooking the tempe for Kering Tempeh.. it’s fried much more than you’d expect with other plant based proteins - for this recipe, it’s to a crisp! We’re not looking to keep any moisture in there because we’ll be reintroducing it via flavour. The dried out tempe is then clad in a rich sauce using kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), chilli, tamarind and aromatics like lemongrass, shallots, ginger and garlic.
Does it keep? Can I make it in advance?
Meal preppers halt here! The drying (really, frying) step means the resulting kering tempeh keeps crispy and perfect for quite a while. Make it alongside a flavour filled Urap Sayur (Indonesian blanched vegetable salad) and pop portions into containers for a few days of feeds ready to go. I like to serve it with fresh rice & peanuts for my absolute favourite nutritious and delicious plant based lunches ready for busy days.
How do I serve it?
Once made, you can serve them warm right away with rice. I like to serve these in Nasi Campur (Indonesian Mixed Rice) alongside my Urap Sayur recipe and anything else on hand. That’s the wonderful nature of nasi campur, at its core it’s just rice with things on the side. Fabulously, this stays crispy for a while so don’t be afraid to make a double batch.
Can I air-fry and make this oil free?
Yes! and no! I’ve included instructions after being asked to test a non-deep fried version (as well as traditional deep frying) at my mother’s behest. It takes a little longer to air fry everything than deep frying, but it’s all hands off so that’s not really a con. My only caveat is that you should still use a little oil to coat the tempe before air frying so you get a really sexy crisp texture. Using the air-fried method means active time for this recipe comes down to about 15 minutes which means once you fall in love with this style of tempe as I have, it’s never too far away.
Grab some fresh tempe.
Cut into fine matchsticks.
Deep or air fry until very, very crispy.
Make a spicy sauce with kecap manis & aromatics.
Toss the tempe through the sauce & serve!
You can’t officially knock tempeh until you try it as vegan Kering Tempeh/Tempe Kering - so crispy, so spicy!
It’s hard to give portions as we serve this in small allocations as part of a larger share of side dishes in Nasi Campur. If serving with rice and a few other sides, you should be able to get 6 to 8 people to have a decent serve of the quantity given below. As always, use the portion adjuster to scale this recipe up or down as you need.
Kering Tempeh
Ingredients
- 600g fresh tempeh
- neutral cooking oil
- 50g peanuts, crushed
- 4 makrut lime leaves (also known as kaffir lime leaves)
- 2 fat ass shallots
- 3 chunky garlic cloves
- 1 lemongrass stalk, white inner core only
- 1 big boy chunk ginger
- 1-4 red chilli, sliced (depending on the spice level of the chilli and who’s eating)
- 3 tablespoons kecap manis
- 1 tablespoon chopped palm sugar
- 2 teaspoons tamarind purée
Instructions
- Cut the tempe into thin matchsticks.
- Either, air-fry: Toss the tempe in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil and depending on the size of your air fryer, separate into batches. Spread the tempe out in the basket of your air fryer in a single layer and air fry at 180c for 15 to 18 minutes. Toss every few minutes and remove once the tempe is dark golden brown and completely dried out of moisture when you bite into it. Watch carefully in the last few minutes to get them out at the right time, and check the image in the guide on this page for an idea of the perfect crispness. Repeat this step until all the tempe is fried.
- Or, deep fry: Heat a few cups of vegetable oil in a wok or a heavy bottomed pot to at least 180c on a deep fry/candy thermometer or until a skewer/chopstick inserted in the hot oil sizzles instantly. Deep fry in two batches for 5 to 8 minutes until super crispy, as indicated by the image on this page. Drain on a paper towel before proceeding.
- With a mortar and pestle or blender, grind the shallots, garlic, lemongrass and ginger into a smooth paste.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil into a wok or wide saucepan. Heat over medium-high as you add the spice paste and cook down for 5 minutes. Stir the kecap manis into 2 - 3 tablespoons of water. Add the chilli and lime leaves to the wok, then pour the kecap manis mix pour over everything and toss vigorously to coat. Switch off the heat and you've made tempeh kering!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
328.86Fat
17.39 gSat. Fat
3.04 gCarbs
26.52 gFiber
1.5 gNet carbs
25 gSugar
10.31 gProtein
21.61 gSodium
180.93 mgCholesterol
0 mg