Kering Tempeh - Fried Tempeh with Sweet and Spicy Glace

5.0 from 15 reviews

Author: Anita Jacobson

Categories: Side Dish Vegetarian

Cuisines: Indonesian

Ingredients: Bean

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 1 hour

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 500 gram tempeh (store-bought or homemade), cut into 2-inch matchsticks (*)
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 1 red Fresno chili (Indonesian: cabe merah besar), cut into thin diagonal slices
• 2 Indonesian bay leaves (Indonesian: daun salam)
• 4 kaffir lime leaves (Indonesian: daun jeruk), cut into thin strips (i.e. chiffonade)
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder (Indonesian: bubuk ketumbar)
• 100 gram palm sugar (Indonesian: gula Jawa)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 50 ml tamarind liquid (2 teaspoon tamarind + 50 ml water), strained to remove seeds and pulps
• Grind the following into spice paste
• 50 gram shallots (Indonesian: bawang merah)
• 3 cloves garlic (Indonesian: bawang putih)
• 3 red Fresno chilies (Indonesian: cabe merah besar)
• 1 inch galangal

Instructions

1. Prepare enough oil for deep frying. Once the oil is hot enough, deep fry the tempeh until golden brown and crispy. Set aside and drain to remove excess oil.
2. Heat oil in a wok, sauté spice paste, chilies, bay leaves, lime leaves, and coriander powder until fragrant.
3. Add palm sugar, salt, and tamarind liquid. Cook until boiling and bubble vigorously. Once the sauce is really thick and reduced, return the fried tempeh into the wok and toss until the tempeh pieces are fully coated with the sauce. Turn off heat and serve immediately or at room temperature.

Notes

• (*) For a non-vegetarian version, do a 400 gram tempeh and 100 gram anchovies (Indonesian: ikan teri) instead of all 500 gram tempeh.