Tempe orek — sweet-savoury fried shredded tempeh with chili

Einsteiger

Tempe Orek (Sweet Soy Fried Tempeh)

Name: Tempe Orek (Sweet Soy Fried Tempeh)
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Indonesian
Ingredients: 400 g Tempeh; 300 ml Oil for shallow frying; 60 g Shallots, sliced; 15 g Garlic, sliced; 3 Red chilies, sliced diagonally; 10 g Galangal, bruised; 2 Indonesian bay leaves (daun salam); 4 tbsp Kecap manis; 1 tbsp Palm sugar; 2 tbsp Tamarind water; 1/2 tsp Salt

Matchsticks of tempeh fried until crisp, then tossed in caramelised kecap manis until they turn dark, sticky and impossible to stop eating.

Quelle

Rezept von Javanese home kitchens · 🏺 Traditionell · Javanese household cooking

Traditional side dish · Java — A dish with no single author. The cited article describes tempeh as a traditional Indonesian fermented soybean food first made in Java, and lists tempe orek/kering — deep-fried tempeh mixed with sweet soy sauce and spices — among the standard Indonesian preparations. The steps here are our own writing, not a reproduction.

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Zubereitung im Video · 3 Videos

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⏱ 30 Min.🍽 4 Portionen🔥 280 kcal🇮🇩 Indonesien🌶️

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Zubereitung

Cut the tempeh into even matchsticks. Spread them out and pat them dry.
Fry them in hot oil in two or three batches until deep golden and audibly crisp, about 4 minutes a batch. Drain on a rack.
💡 Take it further than looks comfortable. Tempeh that comes out merely golden goes soft the moment the sauce touches it; tempeh fried until properly hard stays crunchy for hours.
Pour off all but two tablespoons of the oil. Fry the shallots, garlic, chili, galangal and salam leaves over medium heat until the shallots are golden at the edges.
Add the kecap manis, palm sugar, tamarind water and salt. Let it bubble for a minute or two until it thickens and starts to look glossy.
💡 Watch it closely — sugar syrup goes from glossy to burnt in about fifteen seconds. When it starts leaving a trail behind the spoon, it is ready.
Turn off the heat, tip in the fried tempeh, and toss quickly until every stick is coated.
Fish out the galangal and salam leaves and spread it out on a plate to cool slightly — piled up, it steams itself soft.

💡 Tipps

Toss off the heat. Once the tempeh is in, the sauce needs no more cooking and extra heat only softens the crust you worked for.
It keeps for three or four days in a sealed jar at room temperature, which is exactly why Indonesian households make it in quantity.
Fried peanuts or anchovies are common additions. Peanuts keep it vegan; anchovies do not.