I made this kering tempe manis, or crispy sweet glazed tempeh with peanuts, with black soy and split pea tempeh, but you can use good ol' store bought soy tempeh with the same great results.
I'm wowed by people who aren't wowed by tempeh. If this is you, please don't give up until you try it deep fried, which is hands down my favourite way to eat these fermented beans. If you've ever been unsure about tempeh, this could just be the recipe to change your mind. This Indonesian tempeh kering manis recipe transforms tempeh into crispy, sticky-sweet bliss in next to no time at all.
Like with many of my recipes, there's room to screw up a little. A little bit more or less of any ingredient isn't going to cause disaster, and if you want to spice things up then you can also deep fry some dried chillies and add them to the mix. The coriander also isn't necessary, but I like its mild lemony flavour - for best results toast some coriander seeds and grind them into powder, but you can also use ¼ teaspoon ground coriander if you can't be arsed.
Kering tempe manis: sweet glazed deep fried tempeh with peanuts
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
- 200 grams tempeh cut into approximate half inch pieces (sliced 4-5 millimeters thick)
- 35 grams thinly sliced shallot
- 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 75 grams peanuts
- 40 grams soft palm sugar
- 15 grams galangal, thinly sliced pounded to a rough paste with a pestle and mortar (a heaped tablespoon after pounding)
- 15 millilitres tamarind concentrate 1 tablespoon
- 3 grams table salt scant ½ teaspoon
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds toasted and ground
Instructions
- Line a large plate with a few layers of kitchen roll. Heat a few inches of oil to medium high in a wok and begin to fry everything in batches, starting with the tempeh. Remove from the oil with a mesh skimmer and drain on the kitchen roll when it browns lightly and becomes crispy.
- Turn the heat down to medium and fry the shallots next, until lightly browned and crispy. Remove to the kitchen roll. The garlic goes into the oil next. As soon as it begins to brown, remove it from the oil immediately and pop on the kitchen roll with the tempeh (the garlic will cook quickly). Lastly tip the peanuts into the oil and fry until they are a few shades darker. Dip the peanuts out and pop them next to the other bits to drain.
- Pour all but around a teaspoon of the oil into a heatproof container. With the heat on medium-low, fry the pounded galangal until aromatic (around a minute) Then add the palm sugar, galangal, tamarind, salt, and ground coriander. Stir to combine and simmer until the sugar melts and the sauce is shiny and bubbling (2-3 minutes).
- Tip in all the deep fried ingredients (tempe, shallots, garlic, and peanuts) and stir quickly to combine.
- IMO kering tempe is best after it's cooled down. It will also keep for several days, and if everything was deep fried until dry then it will also stay crispy.
Jessica Austin Simon says
Coincidentally I was just staring at a packet of tempeh in the fridge this am, wondering how to use it up before we left. Problem solved - deliciously 🙂
Tamasin Noyes says
I don't even like nuts and I want this right now. Looks incredible, Kip!
Small Footprints says
Oh this looks fabulous! I've never tried galangal but this is the second recipe in just a few days that I've seen it in ... I think it's the universe telling me to try it. Thank you for sharing. I'm not subscribed to your blog ... can't wait to browse through all your recipes. 🙂
Kip says
Galangal is integral to SE Asian cooking. You can technically do this recipe without it, but it wouldn't be the same at all!
m c melissa says
great post ^ ^. By the way, you can substitute the tempeh chips with potato crisps and you can use powdered galangal (if finding fresh is difficult) or finely shredded one (this way you'll need less galangal in the recipe). For less bitter smell, kaffir lime leaf can be added.
Kip says
Thanks for the tip! A lovely woman in Ubud made this with a combination of potato and tempeh and it was delicious.
I reserve the right to improve malicious and trollish comments.