Tofu & Tempe

Kering Tempe is an Indonesian dish with a special place in my heart. Growing up, my mother would often pack this dish for me when I lived in a dormitory in Yogyakarta. If the food prepared at the dorm wasn’t to my liking, I could always count on the delicious Kering Tempe to fill me up. The crispy fried tempeh, crunchy peanuts, and savory-sweet sticky sauce made it the perfect comfort food. I would pair it with rice, which instantly became my favorite meal. Kering means “crispy” in Indonesian, perfectly describing the dish’s texture. The tempeh is fried until golden …

Terik tahu tempe is a traditional Indonesian dish that is accidentally vegan. It is rich in coconut milk, with a hint of sweetness and traditional Indonesian spices. If you are bored with your regular cooking method for tofu and tempeh, try this recipe. If you grow up eating Indonesian food, you should realize there are many types of curry, and terik is one of them. Other types of curry in Indonesia are gulai (view my jackfruit gulai recipe here), lodeh, and opor (I will share both recipes later in another post). “I have no idea what Terik Tahu Tempe is” …

Tofu tempe bacem is a humble traditional Indonesian dish from Yogyakarta and Central Java. Like many other Javanese dishes, it has a sweet and savory flavor. You can eat this tahu and tempe bacem as a snack or with rice and vegetable dishes. My mother’s hometown is Surakarta, a city in Central Java that most people know as “Solo.” We usually visit this city once a year and never miss a visit to its traditional market. You can easily find people selling tahu and tempe bacem, common street foods in that market. Besides Solo, there is also one region famous …

This could be the first time you hear the word “Pepes”. If you googled this word, you will find a Wikipedia article saying that this word means the Indonesian cooking method using banana leaves as a food wrapping. After the wrapping step, the pepes can be steamed, baked, or grilled. The purpose of using banana leaf as a wrapper is to get the special aroma from the burnt banana leaf as it will be infused inside the cooked food. Spiced tofu cooked in banana leaves (or pepes generally) is famous in the West Java region of Indonesia. There are lots …