Of Donkeys & Dhoklas

Interested in making your own soy and/or non-soy tempeh at home? Join my free WhatsApp group Homemade Tempeh (Recipes, Tips, & More)!

I started making my own tempeh at home just a few weeks ago, and I am already addicted to it! If you love eating store-bought soy tempeh, you should definitely try making your own, because homemade is not just more wholesome and healthier but also a lot more delicious.

If you have tried store-bought soy tempeh and do not like it but are still intrigued by its nutritional value, I’d urge you to try making your own. Homemade soy tempeh is a different vibe! It is so fresh-tasting and milder on the palate when compared to the store-bought ones.

If the idea of making your own soy tempeh from scratch feels intimidating, don’t worry! It is not difficult at all. In fact, it is quite simple once you learn some basic rules. It can be made easily in an Indian kitchen with basic cutlery/equipment.

Check out this post, Homemade Tempeh: Tips for Beginners, for the basic tips before you begin.

Homemade Soy Tempeh (Easy Method)

Time taken: 20 minutes cooking time + 2 hours cooling time + incubating time (24-48 hours)

Yields: approx. 4-5 hearty servings

1 Indian teacup = 150 ml

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried soy beans

• 2 teaspoons vinegar (any kind, I use ACV)

• 2 teaspoons rice flour/besan

• 1/2 the contents of 1 sachet Alla Posh tempeh starter*

Cooking the Soy Beans

1. Soak the soy beans overnight (8 to 12 hours) in warm water. Drain and rinse.

2. Pressure cook the soy beans with adequate fresh water for 12-13 whistles on medium-high heat. The beans should be cooked al dente, i.e., fully cooked and firm to the bite. It shouldn’t be either under-cooked or mushy.

3. Once the soy beans have cooled down, take handfuls of the beans and massage them under the water until the hulls separate and float up. Now pour them out, add more water to the soy beans, and repeat the process until most of the beans are dehulled. It is OK if you are unable to fully dehull the soy beans. Just do your best!

4. Drain and rinse the soy beans.

The Drying Process

1. Take the cooked soy beans in a big bowl and sprinkle the vinegar on them. Toss well so that each bean is uniformly coated.

2. Take 2-3 large plates/trays, and spread out the soy beans evenly in thin layers and keep to air dry. You may place the plates/trays under a fan. Let the soy beans dry completely; they should be 100% dry to the touch with no surface moisture. This may take around 1.5 to 2 hours in the summer months in India.

3. Once the soy beans are completely dry, transfer them to a clean, big bowl.

How to Inoculate

1. In a small dry bowl, take half the contents of a sachet of Alla Posh tempeh starter culture (around 1.5 to 2 gm) and add the besan/rice flour to it. Mix well.

2. Sprinkle this powder all over the cooked, cooled, and dried soy beans. Toss and mix well for several seconds until each bean is uniformly coated with the starter-besan/rice flour combo.

3. Take a small ziplock bag and prick holes at 1-inch intervals using a toothpick. Now spoon all the soy beans into it. Press out all the air from the bag and seal it. You may have to fold the bag to reduce its size.

4. Place the bag on a flat surface. Use your hands to gently press down the beans to form a uniform block of around 1-inch thickness. Refer to the image below.    

The Incubation

1. Place the ziplock bag on a wire-rack tray and keep it to incubate undisturbed in a warm but well-ventilated area. For the best results, place a tray of water underneath.

2. If you don’t have a wire-rack tray, simply spread a clean kitchen towel on the counter and place the ziplock bag on it.

3. The inoculated soy bean will start to generate its own heat after about 12 to 15 hours.

4. Between 15 to 18 hours of incubation, you will be able to see some light condensation and the beginning of some white mycelium growth.

5. The mycelium will continue to grow and thicken rapidly over the next few hours, binding the beans in a firm white layer called the “tempeh mushroom.” Flip the packet over at 24 hours to ensure even air circulation.

6. Your tempeh is ready for harvesting when the entire surface is covered with thick, white “tempeh mushroom” and feels firm to the touch. It should be a solid cake and smell like lightly fermented idli batter at the time of harvesting. This can take around 30 to 36 hours in Indian summers and longer in winters.

Harvesting and Storage

1. Remove the tempeh block from the ziplock bag once it is ready. Steam the tempeh for 10 to 12 minutes to soften it and remove any bitterness caused by the fermentation.

2. Once cooled, you can store the tempeh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. You may also pack the tempeh in a ziplock bag and freeze it for up to two months.

Notes:

*I used Alla Posh soy tempeh starter culture to make this batch. A single sachet contains 3 to 4 gms of starter culture powder. For the quantity of beans mentioned in this post, we need 1/2 of this amount, i.e., 1.5 to 2 gms.

*Tempeh starter cultures from different brands may differ in quality, so I recommend Alla Posh as it is tried and tested by me and the members of my Homemade Tempeh WhatsApp group.

*You can easily halve or double this recipe. For beginners, I would recommend halving the recipe for the first few attempts.

Also see: How to Know if My Homemade Tempeh is Ready?