Tempeh starter culture | make your own tempeh at home

What is tempeh?

Tempeh is a fermented soybean cake from Indonesia, nutty in flavour with a firm bite. You make it from soy beans, but it also works well with other beans. In many cases the result is even tastier. Our Tempeh starter culture is the original Indonesian variety with Rhizopus Oligosporis fungi.

Content of our tempeh starter

• Content 25 grams, enough for 15 25 kg of tempeh!
• Ingredients: rice flour, Rhizopus oligosporis
• Storage instructions: best kept in the fridge for at least 6 months, more than a year in the freezer
• Country of origin: Indonesia
• GMO and salmonella free
• Allergens: none

How to make your own tempeh from our tempeh starter

Ingredients:

•  250 grams hulled soy beans (if using beans with the hulls intact, see below for extra steps)
•  0,5  tbsp. vinegar
•  0,5 gr tempeh starter

The amount of tempeh starter needed per kilogram of cooked soybeans depends on the specific tempeh recipe being used. However, as a general guideline, we advise to use around 1 grams of tempeh starter per kilogram of cooked soybeans

Steps to make your own tempeh:

1.  Soak the beans: place the beans in a large bowl of water with on top. Leave it over night or for at least 12 hours.
2.  Boil the soybeans for one hour or more to cook. If using a pressure cooker for about 45 min. Importantly: the beans should be slightly undercooked.
3. Dehull the beans by slowly rubbing the beans together in plenty water. The hulls will start to flow on top. Scoop them off. Discard them.
4. Discard the cooking water and dry the beans (either using a towel to pat them dry or leave them spread out to dry on your countertop). It is important for the beans to be dry to the touch or only slightly moist, as too much moisture can ruin the batch.
5. Add the vinegar and mix well. Again, the beans should not be wet.
6. Allow the beans to cool to around skin temperature or below (appr. 37˚ C)
7. Add the tempeh starter and mix well to evenly distribute the starter in the beans.
8. Optionally, crush the hulled beans a bt more by hand, or cut them slighty smaller with a knife or a kitchenaid
9. Place the beans very tightly in a plastic  bags (e.g. ziplocks ) with needle-size holes poked through for ventilation. The package should be 2-3 cm thick. Make sure the bags “fits” and is not too big, and press the beans flat up to the corners of the bags.
10. Incubate the beans at 25-35 °C for 24-36 hours.
11. Check the beans after 12 hours. At this point in the process the fermentation will cause the beans to generate their own heat so you will normally need to reduce or even eliminate the external heat source. Be sure to use a thermometer to check the actual temperature.
12. After 24 hours or so, the white mycelium will start to cover the surface of the beans. Over the next few hours the white mycelium will grow through the beans and will smell nutty.

Frequently Asked Questions about tempeh

Can I use other beans for making tempeh?

Yes you can. Please keep in mind that tempeh making is not easy, and ideally you should first build some experience using soy before you move on to over beans. Other beans that work well are, for example, chickpeas and black beans. Chickpeas in particular do have a thick hull and are big so it’s important to dehull them and cut them up.

I see black spots in my tempeh

This is likely sporulation. You’ve overfermented your tempeh. Reduce time or temperature.

My tempeh is mushy, wet, and smells bad.

You cooked your beans for too long, causing them to become fully cooked. The mold then breaks the beans down further into a wet mush. Make sure to cook your beans until they are just barely undercooked.

My tempeh mold growth is uneven

As mentioned, tempeh making is not easy. There’s a lot of variables involved. Uneven mold growth can have many causes: starter not mixed in well enough, not enough starter, too little holes, beans not pressed together enough, beans too big, temperature not correct, beans too wet. We advise you to take our in depth online tempeh making course.

How much protein is in tempeh?

Tempeh made from soybeans holds around 20 grams of protein per 100 grams. Switch to chickpeas, black beans or lupin and that number shifts of course.

What does tempeh taste like?

Nutty, with a faint mushroom note. That flavour comes from the mould. As the mycelium grows through the beans it breaks down part of the proteins and sugars, and that is the smell hanging over your bag after roughly 24 hours. The longer you go, the more pronounced it gets. Go too far and you get black sporulation spots and a bitter edge.

Is tempeh gluten-free?

Good news, yes, our tempeh starter culture as well as the soy bean tempeh traditonally made from it is naturally gluten-free! But here’s the thing: not all tempeh is created equal. Some commercial varieties might sneak in grains like barley, or they could be made in facilities where gluten hangs around. If you’re dealing with celiac disease or serious gluten sensitivity, always double-check those labels. Also, you can make tempeh from other ingredients than soy, even grains that may contain gluten.

Can you eat tempeh raw?

Technically? Yes, you can. The cooking and fermentation processes have already done the heavy lifting of breaking down those soybeans, making them safe to eat straight up. But should you? Well, that’s another story. Raw tempeh has this pretty intense, sometimes bitter flavor that most people find… let’s say “challenging.” So while you won’t get sick from eating it raw, your taste buds will probably thank you for prepare it first. Steaming, cooking, deepfrying: many options.

How do I make tempeh taste good?

Some people find the beany tempeh taste to be a bit intense. But, not to worry. There are few ways to avoid this. First: it’s like a flavor sponge! The secret is marinating it properly. Mix up some soy sauce, garlic, and whatever spices make you happy, then let the tempeh soak it up for at least 30 minutes. Or, do so after deep frying, such as in the famous tempeh goreng sambal recipe. Google it, you won’t regret it. Second:  steam or boil your tempeh for about 10 minutes before marinating. This mellows out any bitterness and opens up those protein fibers so they grab onto marinades better. Finally: make tempeh out of something else than soy. Any bean will work!