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Tempeh

Source of Recipe

Internet


Recipe Introduction

There is an art to making tempeh, but with patience and practice you WILL get it down. Believe me it is well worth the time and effort you may initial have to invest! It took my husband and I a few times to master it, but then it becomes just an easy as making sauerkraut, miso or kefir!

List of Ingredients





Recipe

Tools;
* food processor
* glass baking dish
* big bowl
* aluminum foil

As with making any of the fermented foods, you need to make sure all is clean and your hands are washed to avoid contamination.

Ingredients:

* 2 1/2C garbanzo beans
* 2T vinegar
* 1t tempeh starter


1. Soak garbanzos overnight.
2. Cook them in next morning.
3. Strain liquid and let cool to body temp.
4. Place in food processor.
5. Process slightly with some whole bean remaining.
6. Place in bowl.
7. Add vinegar and mix with spoon.
8. Add tempeh spore and mix thoroughly.
9. Place into a baking dish.
10. Spread evenly and pack it down tight.
11. Smooth it over.
12. Get piece of aluminum foil for top of dish.
13. Poke a number of fork holes in foil.
14. Place on top of dish.
15. Place a cloth over dish.
16. Find a place to incubate for 24 hours, btwn 80-90 degrees.

Make your homemade tempeh recipe in the morning, so that it has the heat of the day to get the spore culture activated. After it has established it will continue even at slightly lower temps.

In 24 hours you will now have a delicious garbanzo bean temp to cut up into squares. Do not be alarm at fuzzy culture growing on the top of it, this is normal and means it has incubated appropriately. When you slice it, you can wrap it individually in wax paper or stack the tempeh with the fuzzy white side facing down and store in the fridge.

You can use it in tempeh recipes, healthy cooking recipes, soups or make a sandwich using our sprouted grain bread.

It is also great with our homemade miso recipe. Sometimes I just spread miso over the top of some grilled tempeh. Yum!
Incubation:

One of the most important things about making tempeh is that the temperature needs to remain consistent at about 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit (29-32 degrees Celsius), during the 24 hour incubation process. There is some room, however, for slightly lower temps at night we have noticed.

Incubation can be achieved in several ways:

1) Dehydrator - we leave our tempeh on top (not inside) of our excalibur dehydrator on the very lowest temp setting. This ensures heat, but not too much.

2) Oven - place inside an oven for 24 hours on lowest temp with a mason jar lid in the door to crack open slightly.

3) Cabinet - incubate tempeh in a warm, high cabinet space that is right over your wood stove or other heat source.

4) Greenhouse - if you live in a warm climate, sometimes a greenhouse will even work.

NOTE: You can also pack your tempeh mix into a plastic bag with fork holes, pressing it into a big rectangular shape. This method also allows the tempeh to "sweat" and incubate nicely. We don't promote the use of plastic close to your food, but in a pinch this method works well.