Dinner and Breakfast Tempeh

I was very surprised not many people know about tempeh. I first heard of it when I was in college. A couple of Indian friends were eagerly anticipating this thing that Hanisha was going to bring back from Indonesia. "What is it?" I asked. My college mates were astonished. "You don't know tempeh?" As if I had committed the greatest sin. Then they went on to describe at length what a delicious delicacy tempeh was. I learned that day tempeh was an Indonesian thing. Period.

Two and a half years ago, when I got married to Adrian and subsequently moved to Bangkok, I started cooking. Back then with little to zilch experience in the kitchen, I visited 101 Cookbooks religiously. Everything I cooked was from Heidi Swanson. I'm proud to say I have outgrown that phase. Nevertheless 101 Cookbooks still serves as my inspiration from time to time.

One of the recipe I took from 101 that I liked very much was this TLT Sandwich recipe. I have always wanted to make it again since then. Unfortunately for reason unknown to me, tempeh was only available during the Thai vegetarian month. I waited. A year later, no sign nor sight of tempeh anywhere. Have they stopped selling? I was very disappointed and frustrated. Local people whom I asked have no clue what I was talking about. Some good-hearted ones directed me to the Vegetarian Society in JJ Market but to no avail. Sigh.

From left: Adrian tucking in to his famous Malaysian foods, mamak-styled. Me savoring local nyonya foods at an antique house in Jonker Street.

(L) Old man preparing teh tarik ("pulled tea"). (R) Haven't seen this boiler for ages!

When Adrian and I went back to KL to visit my family, we took a detour to Melaka - the historical state of Malaysia that was adorned World Heritage site status by the UNESCO in 2007. The trip started in order to satisfy Adrian's curiosity about this place - many people have mentioned it to him. It somehow ended as a history refreshment course for me. There were a few things that upset me, such as the building of shopping malls on the once recreational field near Porta De Santiago (which was wrongly called A'Farmosa by Lonely Planet, said our tour guide at the Red House museum). Its short fall was compensated by the boutique hotel - Courtyard@Heerem - that we stayed a night at, and the guided tour at the museum.

The Geographer Cafe and the curried tempeh.

There was also the sampling of nyonya foods and not to forget a tempeh dish from Geographer Cafe. It was a kind of finger foods, fried with curry powder. It was so good it reignited my desire for tempeh, and I vouched to buy some to bring back to Bangkok.

Unlike traditional tempeh, which is made from fermentation of cooked soya beans, this is of black beans.

Upon our return to KL, our first stop was to Just Life organic store. There, right in front of me, was 5 packets of freshly made, newly arrived organic black bean tempeh! I was ecstatic. I took all of them. Naturally I had been excited to cook with tempeh since then.

I took a quick search in 101 and found a couple other tempeh recipes that I wanted to try. I decided to make the Orange-pan Glazed Tempeh. This recipe features a simple ginger and garlic-spiked orange glaze that smells like a gingered duck dish that my grandmother used to make. Adrian thinks it's just like teriyakki chicken. The beans also make the tempeh looks awfully a lot like meat.

I was so excited about the TLT Sandwich that I couldn't stop smiling the whole night. I even asked Adrian if he could guess what's for tomorrow's breakfast, just to tell him "I'm not gonna tell you. It's gonna be real good."

As Adrian watched me assembling the sandwich, he said "I don't think it's going to make a sandwich." I crudely replied "It's an open-faced sandwich!" No one is dampening my enthusiasm for the breakfast that I'd been waiting for two years!

As it happened, we both loved this two tempeh dishes a lot. Off I go and scavenge for more special tempeh recipes. 3 more tempehs awaiting in the fridge!