Tempe Orek – Indonesian Tempeh Stir Fry

I remember when I was little I was never a big fan of tempeh, but now I think it’s one of my favourite things ever! Part of it, of course, it’s my national pride too. It’s Indonesian and of course, I get protective when some hipsters restaurants start to make it into a pizza or something ridiculous. The reality is, tempeh is always associated with being the common people’s food, it’s cheap and it’s tasty. In the early 90s when the Indonesian government is working on educating people to eat a balanced diet, tempeh and tofu are one of the things they listed. Ironically, some people thought that tempeh was for the poor, so they would prefer meat over tempeh. Well, time has changed. Now that we learn about meat being the most unsustainable food, and tempeh is gaining such popularity. I suppose it’s good that people are using tempeh as a meat substitute, but as an Indonesian, I still think that we cook it better, and white people should stop making it into something that is just ‘try-hard’ and ‘fancy’.

I also have to say that I still haven’t found tempeh in Melbourne that tastes the same with that back home. Most of them are ok, but just don’t buy the Hero Food brand; it is absolutely disgusting.

This recipe is slightly simplified from one of my favourite YouTube channels; William Gozali. He’s a really cool Indonesian chef and his videos are great. To check out his Tempe Orek recipe, click here.

---

Tempe Orek

• 600 gram tempeh, cut into 1cm cubes
• 2 red chillies, sliced thinly
• 2 green chillies, sliced thinly
• 2 large shallots, sliced thinly
• 5 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 lemongrass, bruised
• 2 cm fresh galangal, bruised, or 1 teaspoon galangal powder
• cooking oil
• 1 handful of green beans, cut into 2cms pieces
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoon kecap manis
• 1 teaspoon tamarind paste
• salt and pepper to taste (white pepper is better for this recipe)

1. Deep fry the tempeh cubes for approximately 5 minutes until golden. Set aside.
2. Fry the chillies, shallot, garlic, galangal, bay leaves and lemongrass until soft and fragrant.
3. Add in sugar, the green beans and kecap manis.
4. Add a dash of water and tamarind paste.
5. Do a taste test. Add sugar or kecap manis as needed. I like the base a little bit spicy, so I add in white pepper as needed.
6. Stir in the tempeh and fry on high heat for another 2 minutes until tempeh is covered in the sauce.
7. Serve with hot rice.