What is tempeh?
”Tempeh” is a traditional fermented soybean food that has been eaten in Indonesia for more than 500 years. In the field, after boiling up, soybeans are naturally fermented with the tempeh mold (Rhizopus sp. ) adhered on the surface of hibiscus, etc., leaves.As a healthy food, functionality of tempeh has become a hot topic in the global food industry,
Capacity of tempeh
Tempeh has the following excellent characteristics
- Levels of B-complex vitamins containing in soybean increase through the process of fermentation of tempeh
- Tempeh contains lots of lecithin and highly unsaturated fatty acid such as linoleic acid and linolenic acid.
- Low calorie food compared to animal protein
Tempeh starter
A high-quality tempeh mold by Akita Konno
The tempeh mold as a starter that was carefully selected in close cooperation with National Food Research Institute at Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Akita Konno, has been cultured under aseptic condition and supplied. Akita Konno is the only manufacturer of the seed mold to produce healthy food tempeh through the use of soybean proteins in Japan.

Packaging capacity/bag | amount of raw material (soybean) to be used estimated | price |
25g/bag | 12.5kg | 4200 yen |
50g/bag | 25.0kg | 7200 yen |
How to make tempeh
List of materials
An example for materials: 250g of soybeans and 1g of tempeh starter
Protocol to make tempeh

Step 1.
Add 50ml of vinegar* to 1 liter of water and stir well, then add soybean and leave it overnight.
*to prevent bacteria from propagating

Step 2.
On the next day, change the water and carefully peel the beans by rubbing them well. If the bean peel remains, bacteria easily propagate during culture, so please check it carefully. No problem even if the beans break in half.

Step 3.
Simmer for between 30 min and 1hr in a vat or ordinary saucepan until the soybean becomes soft.

Step 4.
Put the boiled soybeans into a larger container and cool them between 35 and 40oC.

Step 5.
Sprinkle with tempeh starter and mix well.

Step 6.
Put the mixture into a plastic bag punctured at intervals 2 – 3cm by toothpicks or punch holes, etc.

Step 7.
Place the plastic bag with boiled soybeans on a net that was raised so as not to touch the water in a vat with water, and culture for around 20 hrs at the room where temperature keeps at 28 – 30oC.

Step 8.
The white hyphae gradually grow to cover the surface of the soybeans.

Step 9.
Completed !
The finished product is used to turn brownish* due to the nature of the mold. If you do no eat it immediately, it is recommended to keep it in a freezer. *it’s safe to eat.