Saturday 21 August 2010

how to make tempe

do you know about "tempe"? , this originally made 100 % from soya. but honesly to make tempe, should be trial and error.


tempe homemade
tempe in Javanese, is an inovative creation food of Javanese people that made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. It is especially popular on the island of Java, where it is a staple source of protein. Like tofu, tempe is made from soybeans, but tempe is a whole soybean product with different nutritional characteristics and textural qualities.

this is link to let you know how to make tempe with live video.

Tempe's fermentation process and its retention of the whole bean give it a higher content of protein, dietary fibre and vitamins. Tempe is very nutritive and contains many health ingredients. It has many health benefits such as strengthen bones, help to ease menopause symptoms, reduce risk of coronary hearth disease and some cancers. Soya has actually been shown to contain nutrients that have a positive effect on both cholesterol and the potential cancer creating toxins in our bodies. Tempe maintains all the fibre of the beans and gains some digestive benefits from the enzymes created duringthe fermentation process.

The Important parameters in making "Tempe"


1. moist or water content.
Practically all seeds such as rice, beans, peas, oat, and others can be made Tempe. Each gives a different taste. Each takes a different period of time in boiling to get ready for inoculation. Soybeans, the main and most common stuff for Tempe takes 45 to 60 minutes, but most peas take fifteen to twenty minutes. After dehulling, soybeans need five to ten minutes of second boiling before being drained and spread drying on towels. Additional nuking and blowing are sometimes necessary. The difficult task is to gauge the dryness of the substrate. Too dry means slow or no growth of mycelium; too wet, however, results inmyceliolysis and rotting Tempe. Fortunately, the margin of safety is wide enough.

2. Tempe starter (ragi tempe)
Using too much and insufficient amount of starter result in myceliolysis or rotting Tempe. The safest way is just following the recommendation of the makers of the starter.

3. Incubating temperatures
The speed of fermentation is determined by incubation temperature. Incubation temperatures above 40 degrees C and above 25 degrees C will not produce good Tempe. A temperature of 37 - 38 degrees C will produce Tempe within 22h; a temperature of 28-30 degrees C will take up to 48 h to produce Tempe.

                                                  METHOD

1.Cleaning and Soaking Soybeans

Clean the soybeans with clean water. Then soak the soybeans in water for 8 hours or over the night.

2.Cracking the soybeans

After 8 hours or over the night, time to separate the soybeans from its skin. If you use whole soybeans you should split them by squeezing them with a kneading motion. Stir gently causing the hulls to rise to the surface, and then pour off water and hulls into a strainer. Add fresh water and repeat until most hulls are removed. Don't worry if a few hulls remain attached.

3. Cooking the soybeans

Put the beans in a cooking pot with water over the soybeans and cook for 30 min. When it's cooking and foam gather, remove it with clean ladle.

 4. Drying the Soybeans
After 30 minutes, drain off the water and dry the soybeans by continue heating them in the pot on medium heat for a few minutes and until the beans are dry.

 5.Cooling off the soybeans

Move the dry beans into some wide place (ex. tray pan for baking) to cool off, leave it for sometime. During this process, avoid touching the beans with hands, use clean tool instead.

6.Inoculating the soybeans with Tempe starter

When the soybeans is already dry and cold (but not too cold, is better), sprinkle it with 1/4 teaspoon of Tempe starter. Mix with a clean spoon for about 1 minute to distribute the Tempe starter evenly. It's very important to mix the Tempe starter very well: it reduces the risk for spoilage and the fermentation will be faster.

7. Incubating the beans

Take 3 plastic bags (I use plastic bag size 18 X 25 cm with sealed).Divide the soybeans in the two bags and seal them. Press them flat, making sure that the total thickness of the beans is max 3 cm. Then perforate them with holes at a distance of about 1 cm by using a clean satay skewer or a thick but sharp needle. A normal needle is too thin, you need a fat needle or small nail (about 0.6 mm in diameter).This will allow the mould to breathe.

8.Storing the beans

Place the packed beans in an incubator at 30°C or at a warm place for about 36-48 hours which the Tempe fermentation takes place. I put them on the top of oven tray then store them on the top of my kitchen cupboard. The temperature in the house is about 28 C so I have to wrap the beans using a clean napkin/towel to make them warmer.Best temperature for Tempe is around 30 C.

 9.Tempe is ready

After 3 days the container should be filled completely with white mycelium and the entire contents can be lifted out as a whole piece. tempe ready for cooking with your recipee.

10. well done.

kolak pisang( braised banana)



Ingredients:
1 pandan leaf
can of "kolang kaling"
 cassava ( I used frozen ones)
10 banana
sweet potatoes (Yum)
1 can coconut milk + add water.
sugar ( I used palm sugar)
salt.

METHOD:
*Peel skin from sweet potato and cassava, wash clean, cut into small cubes, place in a boiling pan.


*Peel the banana skin, make small cuts and place in the boilin pan along with sweet potato and cassava.

*Cut half each kolang-kaling if desire, if not, leave it as its natural round, put into the boiling pan as well

*Tie knot the pandan leaf and add it into the pan.

*Add sugar, salt, palm sugar, coconut milk, and the water into the pan .

*Bring to boil everything inside the pan until cassava and sweet potato become tender,add salt and sugar
   
                         serve and enjoy

Friday 20 August 2010

Hainam chicken

hainam chicken rice

•Chicken:

1 whole chicken, about 3 pounds
•1 teaspoon salt
•2 cloves garlic, peeled
•4 slices fresh ginger, peeled
•4 scallions, trimmed
•about 12 cups water
•2 tablespoons sesame oil
•sliced tomatoes (garnish)
•sliced cucumbers (garnish)
•cilantro sprigs (garnish)


Chicken Rice:

•2 cups long-grain rice
•2 tablespoons peanut oil
•5 shallots, peeled and minced
•5 cloves garlic, minced
•3-1/2 cups reserved stock from cooking Hainanese chicken
•1/2 teaspoon salt

METHOD


Wash chicken and remove excess fat. Rub the inside of the cavity with salt. Smash garlic and ginger slightly with the flat of a knife. Tie scallions into a knot. Place garlic, ginger, and scallions inside the chicken cavity.


Bring the water to a boil in a pot large enough to hold the chicken. Add the chicken, breast-side down. Simmer, covered, 30-40 minutes, turning chicken halfway through the cooking process, until chicken tests done (juices from thigh should run clear when pricked with a fork).

Carefully remove chicken, draining liquid from body cavity back into the pot. Reserve the stock to make chicken rice. Plunge the chicken into ice water for 5 minutes to stop the cooking process and tighten the skin. Drain, rub with sesame oil, and let cool to room temperature.


To serve, chop chicken into bite-size pieces (the Chinese do this bone and all) and arrange on a platter. Garnish with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers.

.
serve and enjoy..