Tempeh, Kongsi House by the River, and the Man Behind Weekly Production

This blog was written by Isabel Yap Quan-E, a participant of the YELL Conservocation Programme.

Follow Isabel Yap Quan-E’ blog to learn about her experience as a Conservocation Programme participant.

Tempeh, the new superfood darling with recent global virality this year, has actually existed long before its international fame- as a regional traditional food native to Javanese cuisine, between Indonesia and Malaysia. It is the affordable-as-it-gets , go-to protein replacement in many plant based diets on the side of tofu, though it has been a mainstay dish in many Javanese cuisines with a deep significance in culture, and ever since Kongsi Coop's conception, a regular item sold from Kongsi House by the River. This short article dives into a brief historical and nutritional overview of tempeh, ending with an interview with Kongsi Coop's current in-house tempeh producer ‘Panjang Tempeh’ , and a review of some attempted tempeh experimentation.

As mentioned above, tempeh is a classic staple from Java, Indonesia. To summarise for those unfamiliar with this ingredient/dish , tempeh is simple fermented soybean ‘cakes’, utilizing Rhizopus fungus from ‘ragi’ live culture, soybeans for the material, fungus for the bonding, wrapped in banana leaves for shape. Historical records dating back to the 1800's like the Serat Centhini Javanese tales collection written in verse by Crown Prince Mangkunegoro (or Pakubuwono V of Surakarta) ,mention tempeh as a part of everyday food as sustenance , care and ingenuity. This ingenuity is not just found within one region of Java, but also in other parts of the Javanese part of Indonesia, and some parts of Malaysia ,which is of no surprise as 1.5 million Malaysians originate from the Javanese that migrated over centuries ago. These differences can come in the form of regional materials like using different leaves and beans , to different textures and taste , all factors of local resourcefulness. (Purwandari et al,. 2025) .

What sustained many for thousands of years into becoming the ‘new’ superfood, must boast quite the nutritional value. In a study by Teoh et al., 2024, the fermentation that occurs when making tempeh enhances protein digestibility and enriches vitamin B content, while reducing antinutritional compounds that limit nutrient absorption. To put it simply, fermentation in tempeh makes it easier to absorb the nutrients readily available in soybeans, removing the harm and barriers to nutrient absorption. Many studies, significantly Tan et al., 2024, note that soy-based tempeh contains about 40% protein, that being more protein than the usual options of red meat, on top of having significant dietary fiber. Undoubtedly, this makes tempeh the ideal protein option if one wants to go plant based, or simply lower their meat consumption without missing out on important nutrients.

Through Kongsi Coop's philosophies and practices of not just plant based food inclusivity, but prominently connecting culture, rights and economics, and their 7 living principles, tempeh becomes the top choice alternative to ethical, healthy consumption, with good accessibility as tempeh is a local protein source with great cultural history in the region. That drives the demand within the community to great heights, and who is there to provide in house tempeh ; someone we call ‘Panjang’ Mohd Saffiuddin Md Isa , our in house tempeh producer.

Interview Q&A with ‘Panjang’

The following is a short Q&A casual interview with Panjang about his tempeh making journey, consisting of a written semi-dictation transcript I've done while talking to him, to supplement the audio recording here :

[Audio Recording to be inserted if possible in formatting, please delete this bracketed part]

[I - Interviewer , P - Panjang (semi summarised and paraphrased)]
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I: Most of us in Kongsi know Panjang as the garden caretaker, (weekly) food bag packer and tempeh maker of Kongsi House by the River. For the new readers, could you introduce yourself once more, tell us a bit about your background and how you joined Kongsi Coop ?

P: Joined around 2022 , joined with his friend Chloe , through an event called “Recycle Day “ , which was found through social media. The event encouraged people to bring their own recyclables in exchange for market coupons. Panjang was into zero waste long before joining Kongsi , and found the event to be quite suitable. He founded Kongsi Coop instead of the expected Kongsi KL during that event , and thought that the organizers were the same.

Kongsi was ‘eye opening’ , providing a culture shock in an exciting way, since Kongsi Coop is an old kampong house with a huge garden area, with an interesting community. Panjang was impressed by what the team and community does, especially with Recycle Day's process, along with the organic food that was sold, knowing the process from farm to table. Kongsi welcomed Panjang and Chloe , with engaging conversations and like-mindedness.

Something that I asked about the place was ; “ you have such a big green area, do you plan to do gardening ?”
He was welcome to join the gardening program , being in Kongsi house almost everyday.

Prior to joining Kongsi, Panjang started a guerilla garden where plants are planted into the roadsides, ‘invading’ other people's lands to plant food , usually ubi kayu. Kongsi was like a ‘dream come true’ for gardening and eating, with the requirement for protecting the soil by planting organic.

4 to 5 years down the road, time flies ‘fast’, but the gardening parts teach Panjang to slow down and to lower his expectations since organic gardening teaches patience and acceptance of what the soil is able to produce.

Summary:
Panjang started as a volunteer at Kongsi , and got along easily with other members of the community . The demand for tempeh was high , being heavily promoted by founder Callie and Rasa Masa. Tempeh is a superfood that is very local and suitable for Malaysian climate , being a meat replacement paced with nutrition. Panjang is of Javanese descent of 7 generations, though he did not really practice or learn much about Javanese culture. Tempeh making felt like an ancestral calling and at the time, the previous tempeh maker was leaving as the demand rose constantly, without a producer, others had to buy from outside. Making tempeh in Kongsi made it accessible for others in the community. Panjang learnt from Chloe, who had learnt from Kongsi's workshops, producing his first official batch in 2025, beginning in December 2024 to January 2025, and beginner's luck drew him in to making more and more. With the existing high demand, Panjang continues to make tempeh without worry about income, stepping out of working at Just Life to fully focus on tempeh making.

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I : Why do you do what you do , especially with making tempeh for weekly food bags.

P : High demand , and a realization along the way . Tempeh is a very healthy meat replacement. Many people agree on tempeh being the best, especially when selling in events. Panjang was able to supply to many clients, especially cancer patients who are looking to replace their food options with healthier organic food.

On top of his audio engineering job and music scene, Panjang finds tempeh making to be the most meaningful, especially when providing for those in need.
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I: When making tempeh , what are your methods and what do you look out for during the fermentation process?

P: The concept of tempeh making is the same for most tempeh makers. Dehulling, cooking, applying the starter , packaging . Some makers use machines, Panjang uses his hands and the new incubator . Soybean supplies for Panjang are from a non-GMO organic supplier, though he is looking for other suppliers , especially for locally sourced beans. At the time being, his beans are from a Non GMO organic from China. First he soaks the beans in an airtight container with water and some enzymes. Soaking reduces a certain acid naturally found in beans , Panjang soaks for 48 hours ( 2 days) with water, enzyme and vinegar. After soaking, beans are dehulled, otherwise known as removing the skin , as it could affect tempeh hydration levels later down the line. Panjang's method does dry dehulling, which is faster as there's better ‘grip’ and friction to remove the skin, though it does require more force and might cause the beans to split. Afterwards, he uses water to remove and clean the dehulled beans. This process could take 3 to 5 rounds , depending on how soft the beans are.

After removing the water and dehulling, the beans would be steamed with pandan water in a muslin cloth for 40 minutes first. The time could vary though, as beans need to be checked for rawness. After steaming, the beans are air dried on bamboo trays, occasionally stirred about to ensure proper , even drying. This part is critical , as the beans need to be dried enough for the fungus to grow properly, as it (the fungus) only thrives in ‘aerobic’ conditions ,which requires a sufficient amount of oxygen.

When the beans are dried, ragi (fungus started), are applied to the beans, around one small spoon per batch. This is distributed by either stirring or shaking it with the beans. After that, the beans are packed, usually packed traditionally into ‘simpul air’ leaves. Usually these leaves would be prepared by blanching for sanitisation and softening . The standard wrapping size is 100g per package of tempeh. After wrapping, holes are poked into the leaves so that air can come in and out for the fermentation process. Air hole size is critical , as it has to be big enough for oxygen to grow, but not too big as it could cause the beans to dry up. A toothpick hole suffices for this part. Then ferment for 2 days, though it depends on temperature and weather. The ideal temperature would be around 29 degree celsius to 36 degree celcius, too low and the ragi hibernates, too high and the ragi overcooks. The first 12 hours are crucial when it comes to temperature control.

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I: What do you think about the tempeh you make ? What would you say , would be the greatest successes and failures on your journey with making tempeh .

P: Greatest failures would be the big events, when 7kg of tempeh had to be made and the already long process was prolonged, and all the hard work resulted in disappointing results as the tempeh did not ‘jadi’ (happen) . From that failure, Panjang learnt to communicate with other tempeh makers, mainly Marian from Farm Foodies. From failure, one becomes humble and brave enough to reach out and consider for advice . Panjang has a long way to go in experience , and believes it is best to fail now and learn.

One of his greatest successes was during an event for 50 to 60 successful pieces of tempeh that all sold out .

I: I recall you selling your tempeh at your own activities, what was it like to sell it there and do you think it would be cool to bridge the underground scene with Kongsi's culture and advocacies?

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P: With the straight edge community , Panjang wonders about the potential relationship between straight edge communities with the organic health community . He does express a bit of sadness about how the younger generations among gig goers not knowing about the existence of tempeh, and the loss of information that could be given to younger generations about traditional foods.

I: Sadly, we were not able to successfully cultivate some of the tempeh samples ( Soybean, Rice and Millet) for this article , what would be the cause and what would be your advice on tempeh making and its various outcomes?

P: “If I knew the cause of the failures , I would have improved it long ago” . Panjang thought the weather might be the cause of recent failures, as nights can go below 29 degrees celcius. Some experimentation was done to check on temperatures, though it seems to not be the cause. As of this interview , no known cause is found, though the garbanzo beans have never failed (though it is more expensive to make . Soybeans are usually a hit or miss, and anything could be the reason, such as ragi sensitivity, as the ragi is kept in the fridge. When failure happens, the causes would be hard to determine at times. The advice is to speculate and improvise. For now, it seems like the ragi is okay, along with the garbanzo beans.

Advice for new tempeh makers, the philosophy of life would apply , such as ‘expect the worst’ , or rather ; curb your expectations. When it comes to tempeh making and organic produce, outcomes can be unpredictable . If one wants to start making tempeh, try small batches and make sure one knows what they are doing , before committing 100%. He does say that one should learn how to make tempeh, as it is a good skill and full of local regional heritage. Keep making tempeh, but don't expect too much, you will fail by 50%. This could be discouraging but the best part always comes when it forms, when watching the tempeh form successfully. The reward is greater than the cost of failure.

Tempeh Review

Due to unforeseen , unpredictable circumstances, we were not able to produce regular soy, rice or millet tempeh in time for this interview, except for the Garbanzo (chickpea) tempeh. This section would include my personal review of the Chickpea Tempeh in detail, followed by recalling past experience reviews of the other tempehs made in Kongsi house by panjang and others.

Garbanzo (Chickpea) Tempeh : Raw and Fried

Garbanzo Tempeh cooked 2 ways, accompanied by Tai’s Choice Hot Chili Roselle Sambal .

General scent - Slightly fruity and alcoholic, as fermentation develops alcohol, though the fruityness is attributed to the chickpeas.

Texture - since it is fresh, the mold is fluffy and soft. Chickpeas are slightly powdery and this carries into the tempeh as well.

Unsalted Raw - There is the signature chickpea taste and powdery texture, with a slight nuttiness as usual, with slight bite. A tiny bit of fluffy chewiness is present thanks to the fungus , in addition to the slight alcoholic taste of fermentation, especially in edge and corner slices . In this raw state, my personal recommendation is to add a tiny bit of salt to enhance and draw out deeper natural flavours. 8/10 chickpeas

Raw + Tai's Choice Hot Roselle Sambal - A Kongsi sample favourite combination for raw tempeh and personal recommendation for those who are apprehensive or not ready to eat tempeh raw. The sambal's spice and flavour is strong, but the garbanzo tempeh pulls through as a side profile flavour and texture carrier. 7/10 spicy (I personally can't handle too much spice but Tai's Choice Sambal is easy to wash off) .

Fried with some salt - The aroma is pronounced through frying , with an irresistible crispy edge when bitten. The flavour changes slightly due to caramelisation , as the raw fruityness and alcohol flavours are toned down, but the stronger chickpea flavour is enhanced with a slight smoky taste from the frying. The salt adds to complexity, pulling out a slight sweetness from the chickpea flavour profile. 10/10 my favourite method of consumption.

Fried + Tai's Choice Hot Roselle Sambal - As expected , the sambal does overpower the tempeh's natural fermented flavour, that is already subdued from frying, taking over most of the flavour profile. What is left of the garbanzo tempeh is it's texture, being the crisp of frying and bite from chickpeas. Not much else can be said. 6/10 crunchy and spicy.

Recalling and Reviewing from memory : Soy, Rice and Millet

Soybean tempeh is the original, classic style of tempeh, sporting the usual nutty, slightly earthy flavour with a good bite. I rarely eat this raw, though when raw,warm (fresh off fermentation maturity) and slightly sweet, goes well with strong, savory condiments like sambal. The best way to consume it is to slice and fry each side until golden, lightly salted for the usual garnish. Fried tempeh will carry the flavour of the oil, and at Kongsi House, if it's not plain oil, unprocessed organic palm oil adds some slight extra flavour, but a lot of golden colour.

Rice tempeh, is the more common experimental piece, made with usually plain leftover rice at Kongsi house. It is the fastest to ferment and has a risk of overfermenting into mushy, semi-solid ‘tuak’ (rice alcohol) as its original raw state is softer, slightly more fragile. Speaking of alcoholic flavours ,rice tempeh carries prominent alcoholic ‘tuak’ notes. I find its raw state a bit too strong, so I prefer to slice and fry rice tempeh, resulting in a mellow, caramelised flavour. The obvious condiment selection is just plain salt, because it complements the slightly sweet alcoholic flavour of rice tempeh.

Lastly, Millet tempeh, the most experimental and elusive. I've only had this once when someone in the working team had an attempt at it. Millet's grain texture is harder and smaller, when cooked it becomes semi-soft, depending on how long the cooking and soaking goes. While I have not tried the raw state of millet tempeh, I have tried the slice-and-fry version, which I deem most interesting of the four tempeh types so far. Frying millet makes it crunchy, and that carries into the tempeh version as well. The fermentation process brings some mild alcoholic notes (as do all grain tempeh), though I would describe its flavour profile to be more like a funky cheese, a funky, crunchy cheese.

As an aside,with these tempeh experiments, we (Kongsi House tempeh enthusiasts) have discussed and fathomed an idea most silly being a ‘tempeh charcuterie board’ mimicking that of a cheese board featuring different kinds of tempeh raw and fried, accompanied by fruits and sauces , though the logistics and material costs make this a bit of a far fetched dream.

Conclusion

Tempeh may be the new trending superfood, but here at Kongsi Coop, under Panjang Tempeh's production, this food item will always be the regular staple. It has always been a part of local food culture and regional heritage , and here in Kongsi, we always look to the balance of economics, culture and rights, connecting people, soil and nature, that includes sustaining ourselves on what's available to us. Tempeh is a live culture, both literal through fermentation and living on as a staple in Indo-Malayan food.

Through my time spent working in Kongsi Coop, especially when handling the weekly food bags with Panjang, I have learnt to appreciate the feeling of joy when the tempeh is warm off a successful fermentation cycle, when it ‘jadi’ (happens), and much likely- thanks to his work, I don't think I can return to eating store bought tempeh. Someday , I might consider experimenting and making tempeh on my own, especially after observing and learning the process, especially after experiencing the process during the workshop, which I highly encourage local culinary enthusiasts to check out when available, because nothing connects people better than learning about, making and eating food.

Acknowledgements and Extra Notes

Once more, a special thanks to Mohn Saffuddin Md Isa, also known as ‘Panjang’ for agreeing to be this article's interview subject. For those who wish to join the next Tempeh Workshop at Kongsi House, here's a link to Kongsi Academy's site for future updates. https://www.kongsiacademy.org/courses/make-your-own-tempeh/?cl=1

References

Purwandari, U., Widyastuti, Y., Rahayu, E. S., & Pranoto, Y. (2025). Exploring the profile of amino acids and ethnography study in tempeh. Journal of Ethnic Foods, 12(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42779-025-00285-3
Shurtleff, W., & Aoyagi, A. (2007). History of tempeh and tempeh products (1815–2007). SoyInfo Center. https://www.soyinfocenter.com/pdf/148/Temp.pdf
Tan, K. H., Loo, Y. Y., & Yap, C. C. (2024). Nutritional composition and sensory evaluation of tempeh from different legumes. Food Research, 8(2), 88–95. https://www.myfoodresearch.com/uploads/8/4/8/5/84855864/_16__fr-2023-088_tan.pdf
Teoh, S. M., Ng, J. H., & Sulaiman, R. (2024). A review on health benefits and processing of tempeh. Food Science and Technology Journal, 42(3), 115–129. https://research.monash.edu/en/publications/a-review-on-health-benefits-and-processing-of-tempeh-with-outline