Sambal Goreng Tempeh
INDONESIAN · INDONESIA

Sambal Goreng Tempeh

Sambal goreng tempeSide

Blistered tempeh batons in a sweet-hot sambal that clings to every ridge and hollow. Fermented soybean funk meets palm sugar and chilli — a side dish that steals the plate.

Total
45 min
Heat
4/5
Serves
4

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Flavour profile

Heat
Funk
Acid
Richness
Umami
  • Fermented
  • Spicy
  • Sweet
  • Umami

The real deal

Region
Indonesia — a warung classic across Java, served with rice at every meal of the day.
Technique
Tempeh is fried hard first so it stays crisp, then tossed in a sambal cooked down until the oil separates.
We kept
Fermented tempeh, candlenut-thickened sambal, palm sugar and tamarind — no shortcuts to ketchup or sweet chilli sauce.

Ingredients

4 Serves

fry

  • 400 g · cut into batons
  • 150 ml
  • 4 tbsp

sambal

  • 150 g · stems removed, roughly chopped
  • 5 · kept whole, for heat
  • 6 · peeled
  • 4 cloves · peeled
  • 5 · or macadamia
  • 1 tsp · optional · a thumbnail piece, toasted
  • 3 cm · peeled, sliced
  • 1 · bruised, bottom third only
  • 2
  • 40 g · shaved or grated
  • 1 tbsp
  • 1 tsp

finish

  • 3 · optional · torn, spine out

Method

  1. Cut the into batons about 4 cm long and a finger-width thick — thin enough to crisp through, thick enough to stay meaty.

    Slice across the bean pattern, not with it: the batons hold together better and crisp on more sides.

  2. Blitz the , the , , , and to a rough paste that still has texture — stop before it turns to purée.

    A food processor is fine, but pulse it. A stone mortar gives a coarser, sweeter paste without bruising the shallots.

  3. Bruise the with the back of your knife until it splays, and slice the into coins. Tear the later, at the end.

  4. Heat 150 ml in a wok over high heat until a tempeh baton sizzles on contact. Fry the tempeh in two batches for about 4 min each, until deep golden and crisp at the edges, then drain on a rack — not paper, which steams the crust soft.

    Crowd the wok and the tempeh drinks oil instead of crisping. Two batches, always.

  5. Pour off all but 4 tbsp and set it over medium heat. Drop in the 2 , the bruised lemongrass and the ; stir for 1 min until the leaves smell sweet and crackle at the edges.

  6. Add sambal paste and fry over medium heat, stirring almost constantly, for 12 min. It will spit, darken and smell roasted rather than raw; you are done when the oil separates and pools shiny at the edges.

    This is the step people rush. Undercooked sambal tastes raw and harsh; keep going until the colour deepens to brick.

  7. Stir in the , and 1 tsp . Taste: it should be hot first, sweet second, tart at the back. Adjust with more sugar or tamarind until it sings.

  8. Tip in the fried tempeh and toss hard for 2 min so the sambal works into every ridge. It should look glossy, not wet — if it's loose, keep it over the heat for another minute.

    Add the tempeh only at the end: cooked in the sambal from the start it goes soft and mealy.

  9. Fish out the salam, lemongrass and galangal. Tear the over the top and serve warm or at room temperature with rice.

    It's better after half an hour and keeps three days in the fridge — the tempeh softens, the flavour deepens.

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