Stir-Fried Tempeh with Green Beans

Name: Fried Tempeh with Green Beans
Ingredients: 400 g tempeh, cut in 1 inch cube/dice; 400 g green beans, cut in 5 cm/2 inches; 5 tbsp Indonesian sweet soya sauce / Kecap Manis; 1 cm galangale, bruised or roughly sliced; 3 pc salam or bay leaves; ½ tsp pepper; a pinch of sugar or to taste; 1 tsp salt or to taste; vegetable oil to fry tempeh; 3 pc large green chillies, roughly chopped; 3 pc large red chillies, roughly chopped; 7 pc shallots, finely sliced; 3 gloves garlic, finely sliced

Origin: Java Island

Ingredients

400 g tempeh, cut in 1 inch cube/dice
400 g green beans, cut in 5 cm/2 inches
5 tbsp Indonesian sweet soya sauce / Kecap Manis
1 cm galangale, bruised or roughly sliced
3 pc salam or bay leaves
½ tsp pepper
a pinch of sugar or to taste
1 tsp salt or to taste
vegetable oil to fry tempeh

For seasoning

3 pc large green chillies, roughly chopped
3 pc large red chillies, roughly chopped
7 pc shallots, finely sliced
3 gloves garlic, finely sliced

Fried Tempeh with Green Beans

Tempeh, Indonesia's wonder food was likely first made by accident in an attempt to preserve soybeans, now it's going global. In its homeland, this humble soy patty is a favourite choice for making tempeh dishes and snacks because it is available anytime & cheap! Tempeh is especially popular on the island of Java as staple source of protein, a subtitute for expensive meat.

This stir-fried recipe is commonly served as a condiment for Nasi Rames, refers to an indonesian/javanese dish of a scoop of nasi putih (white rice) accompanied by small portions of a number of other dishes, which includes meats, vegetables, eggs, sambal and fried-shrimp krupuk.

With this recipe you can plan a set of Nasi Rames menu with "Sambal Goreng Kentang Ati", "Ayam Goreng Bumbu Kuning", "Sambal Bajak" and Kerupuk Crackers. Of course you can cook it as single side dish, served with rice and kerupuk. It tastes also great 🙂

Important Note: Use only the original Indonesian sweet soy sauce or known as Kecap Manis. This sauce is thick, sweet and contains a little bit of salt.

This is the simple trick to recognize it's authenticity: Just shake the bottle downside, if the sauce has a thick, almost syrupy consistency then you get it right.

If it flows like water then never think a twice to even try, otherwise you will ruin the dish!

Instructions

Cut tempeh in 2 cm/1 ich dice/cube.
Heat 50 oil in a fryingpan/skillet on medium heat, deep-fry the tempeh.
Fry until lightly brown and half cooked (not so hard and crispy).
Set aside to drain.
Peel off (if necessary) & cut/slice ingredients for the seasoning: shallots, garlic, chillies, galangale.
Heat 2 tbsp of remaining oil in a fryingpan, saute the shallot & garlic until translucent & fragrant.
Add the chopped chillies, galangale and salam/bay leaves.
Saute until fragrant & well cooked. (Tips: Add a bit salt immediately if the chilli's fumes causes you coughing uncontrollably).
Add the green bean & stir all the times over medium-high heat until almost cooked. (approx. 5 minutes)
Add the fried tempeh, stir to mix
Add kecap manis and stir to mix. Cook just 2 minutes only.
Add pepper and stir well continuosly to prevent burning.
Add salt and sugar (if necessary) to adjust the taste. Serve hot with rice or as side dish for Nasi Rames.