What is tempeh, how to make it? Calorie content and composition of the product. Benefits and harm to the body. Dishes made from fermented soy protein. According to research, people in East Asia who regularly consume fermented soy protein products have a 2-2.5 times lower cancer incidence than Europeans. Special product benefits for women. Menstrual pain during regular PMS decreases, the likelihood of malignancy of existing neoplasms decreases, the development of hyperthyroidism stops, and, as you can see visually, age-related changes are inhibited - the formation of wrinkles, skin peeling.
Contraindications and harm to tempo
In peoples living in Southeast Asia, the negative effect on the body of fermented soy protein can be caused by allergies. A special food culture lies in the fact that even people from the lower social strata include dishes from many different ingredients on the menu. That is, you can not be afraid of overeating. But the organism of Europeans, who are beginning to get carried away with a new fashionable product, can cause significant harm to the pace.
Soy protein intolerance is rare, but overeating can cause health problems. Due to the increased amount of phytoestrogens in men, libido decreases, gynecomastia (enlargement of the mammary glands) and erectile dysfunction develop.
You should not lose weight with tempeh, switch to a mono-diet, albeit for a short time. Even after a week of consuming more than 200 g of the product per day, women increase facial hair, increase blood flow during the menstrual cycle and increase its duration. In addition, the product stimulates the development of fibrocystic mastopathy, blocks the production of thyroid hormones and disrupts the endocrine system, and increases the duration of premenopause.
Restriction to use - no more than 60 g daily as part of various dishes or 250-240 g at the same time once a week. Vegetarians should be aware that it is not possible to completely replace animal fats with soy. The composition of the plant fermented protein does not contain vitamin B12 and some amino acids necessary for normal life. Therefore, even strict vegetarians who use tempeh as an ingredient in their dishes should not give up eggs, butter and dairy products. And vegans are advised to supplement the diet with the intake of a vitamin and mineral complex.
How to cook tempeh?
To be sure that there are no preservatives and various flavors, it is advisable to learn how to cook a soy product yourself. To do this, prepare in advance: peeled soybeans - 2 cups, vinegar - 2 teaspoons, a special leaven. The latter is difficult to get, but possible.
Before cooking tempeh, boil the beans with a little water until soft. It is necessary to ensure that the surface is always covered with water, otherwise the fruits will harden and it will be impossible to ferment them in full. Then mix the beans with vinegar and sourdough, placing them in a fermentation container.
If there is no container, pour the mixture with vinegar and sourdough into a plastic bag, make many holes in it and place it in a multicooker, after pouring boiled water to the bottom. Set the "Fermented rice" mode and leave for 3-4 days.
The solid mixture that is obtained after fermentation is called tempeh. It is not necessary to give the shape of a bar or a cube. After all, the product was prepared for yourself, and you don't have to pack it. The main thing is to make sure that the layer of beans is small.
How is tempeh eaten?
Soy products are good for a variety of uses. Rarely is tempeh eaten as cheese or cottage cheese by itself. In most cases, it is introduced as an ingredient in various dishes.
After buying a soy product in the store, you need to take it out of the package and leave it to lie down to get rid of the slightly unpleasant "batch" smell. At this time, a pot of water is placed on the fire.
When the water boils, the entire plate (or bar) is placed in it without breaking. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Then they take it out with a slotted spoon and put it in a colander so that the glass has excess moisture.
Subsequently, the softened soy product is cut. Long strips are recommended for barbecue, beef stroganoff or goulash, small crumbs for tacos, and small pieces for soup.
Tempeh recipes
When choosing a soy product in a store, it is important to pay attention to the expiration date. "Old" tempeh tastes unpleasant and, if used as an ingredient, can ruin the whole dish.
Delicious recipes with tempeh:
- Tempeh in spicy sauce … Boiled briquette, 400 g, cut into cubes and fried in hot sunflower oil until lightly browned. Throw back with a slotted spoon in a colander, covered with a paper towel to remove excess fat, and in oil, cut into strips of ginger root and a couple of cloves of crushed garlic are fried. When the frying becomes golden, pour in fish sauce - half a glass (Europeans can replace it with soy), add a pinch of soaked wakame seaweed. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in the same amount of water, also pour into a pan, add chili and leave until it thickens. Without removing from the heat, spread the tempeh again, add some salt to taste. The best side dish for a dish is boiled rice.
- Tempeh in maple syrup … Make a mixture for the marinade: a quarter cup of maple syrup, half of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce - 2 tablespoons, olive oil - 3 tablespoons, crushed garlic, thyme. Tempeh - a package of 250-300 g - is boiled, cut into even cubes and placed in the sauce so that it reaches the middle of each piece. Leave to marinate for 2 hours. Then the container is covered with foil and put into an oven preheated to 170-180 ° C for 20-25 minutes. Take out the container, turn over all the pieces, repeat the baking. Remove from the oven, remove the foil, pour the sauce into a gravy boat and simmer over low heat until it becomes sticky and thick. If required, you can add salt or a little cinnamon. The thick sauce is again combined with tempeh. Served with quinoa porridge.
- Fried tempeh … A bar is boiled, cut longitudinally, into plates. Heat peanut butter in a frying pan, fry on both sides until crisp. You can complicate the recipe and improve the taste of the dish: tempeha plates are rolled in eggs and milk, batter is made from bread crumbs or bread crumbs mixed with salt. This dish is one of the most popular in Sri Lanka. It is sold on the street, in cafes and restaurants; hot spices are added to the batter.
- Tempeh with sesame seeds … Boiled fermented soy protein, 250 g, cut into strips, each coated with olive oil, and spread on a dry baking sheet, sprinkled with sesame seeds. They are baked in the oven at 180 ° C, constantly turning over. It is necessary to achieve an even golden brown crust, avoiding burning. While the tempeh is baked, mix the sauce. Vegetable oil is poured into a hot frying pan - sesame or sunflower oil (1 tablespoon is enough), a handful of sesame seeds, grated fresh ginger and pieces of fresh fleshy tomatoes. Tomatoes - 4 pieces - are preliminarily placed in boiling water for 40-60 seconds and the thin skin is removed. According to the original recipe, flour made from an exotic plant, arrowroot, is used for the sauce. But if such a rarity is not available, ordinary corn is an alternative. Pour 75 ml of tamari, 2 tablespoons of flour into a pan with the future sauce and pour in a glass of water. Cook until thickened. The sauce is served with sesame seeds.
- Burgers … As always, tempeh is boiled and sliced. You should get 2-2.5 cups of small pieces. In a separate deep bowl, mix a quarter teaspoon of salt with black and red pepper on the tip of a knife, garlic powder. Spices are combined with two beaten eggs, tempeh is also mixed in there. Cutlets are formed from the resulting minced meat, fried on both sides on the grill, previously oiled. You can dip it in batter before frying. Served with green salad.
- Salad … Plain or brown rice, 2 cups, boil, cool. Mix half a cup of celery stalks, a quarter cup of soybean sprouts and the same amount of grated radish, half a cup of crushed roasted almonds, 2 cups of small pieces of tempeh. Add a tablespoon of raw sesame seeds and soy sauce, 2 - apple cider vinegar, 3 - almond oil. Close the container, where all the ingredients are located, with a tight lid, and shake well, pour onto rice. Before serving, lay out a few pieces of nectarine and whole almond kernels.
Tempeh can be added to dishes instead of tofu. However, it should be borne in mind that the product is not tasteless. It is not combined with legumes such as beans or peas, or meat. It goes well with cereals, seafood and sea fish.
Interesting facts about tempeh
It is not known who first invented tempeh, but there is a city with that name in Indonesia. Perhaps the inhabitants of this settlement also own the "palm tree"?
Although among the inhabitants of Java this dish has been a must-have addition to the daily menu for many years, since ancient times, it owes its popularity to the Internet. Bloggers who have visited this rather confined space have tried a new product and practically "drowned" in praise.
You shouldn't believe everything that the Internet writes. You cannot achieve ideal parameters by quickly losing weight, or build muscle with only soy fermented product. It is just a plant-based, easily digestible protein that replenishes the body's supply of energy and nutrients. It is impossible to maintain health without a balanced diet and sports activities.
What is tempeh - look at the video:
Maybe soon some other soy product will come into fashion, and also from the culinary specialists of the East. After all, beans have one very important and useful quality: when preparing a soy product, no waste is left, which means that the ecology does not suffer.
