Tempeh DIY

I'm on a fermented foods frenzy here. Now it's time for tempeh.

Tempeh is an indonesian fermented soy product loaded with protein.

It's got a nutty flavor and has got a tender but firm texture.

Again i collected information from many sources and did this:

1) Ordered tempeh starter (the mold spores) online.

2) Soaked 500 grams of soy beans for 10+ hours

3) De-hulled the beans by kneading and squeezing them for ever. (This part truly is a bore)

4) Cooked the soybeans for 30 min with 4 tbsp of apple cider vinegar added to the cooking water.

5) Drained the beans and dried them by returning the pot to low heat, constantly stirring.

6) Leaving the beans to cool.

7) Added the tempeh starter.

8) Packed in plastic bags, perforated every 1 cm or so.

Here it is 'sweating' away, mold growing.

9) Left to incubate at 29-30 degrees celcius for 27 hrs. I made a weird construction from chopsticks, cardboard and kitchen towels. I placed it on the top of my fridge, using the heat from the back of the fridge to keep the temperature high.

I think it's ready...

Finished tempeh

Grains, seeds and nuts can be added to make mixed tempeh. Also soy beans can be substituted by other beans or nuts. In future experiments I will try that for sure.

Inspiration:
http://www.tempeh.info/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTNoPrYmBGU

http://www.veganbaking.net/vegan-recipes/other-vegan-eats/how-to-make-tempeh.html

http://www.soya.be/how-to-make-tempeh.php
http://www.toomanychefs.net/archives/001785.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H3d9uJVYA0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHm1ukruZ_s&feature=related

Kombucha - my first brew :D

Kombucha is fermented tea said to have a million and two health benifits. It's got a tangy flavour and is slightly sparkling. I love it because it tastes great and makes me feel good.

In NYC i kinda got addicted to kombucha. I used to buy these in health food stores:

 

Now i'm brewing my own and just bottled the first batch.

Green Tea Kombucha with Strawberry

As I am incapable of following instructions or recipes, I ended up following different tips from a million places.

This is what I did:

1) Got my hands on a kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast) and starter. You can buy it online or get it free from somebody who's brewing.

2) Brewed 2 liters black and 2 liters green tea - as i wanted to try both out.

3) Added 150 grams of sugar to each tea batch.

3) Let the tea cool.

4) Poured the tea into two big glass jars, making sure to leave room for some starter.

5) Added the kombucha scoby and the starter - covered with clean cloth, sealing with a rubber band.

6) Went away for a week and came back to the most delicous sparkling kombucha. The parents had made two beautiful kombucha babies.

7) Added strawberrys to some, ginger and rhubarb to some and left some without flavouring.

Any handling of the scoby and the clean utensils must be done only with clean hands. Hygiene is important to avoid other bacteria to invade the kombucha.

There's a lot of videos on youtube and webpages with detailed instructions and tips and tricks.

Kimchi

This kimchi is 1 month old.

Ingredients

Salt
1 napa cabbage
1/4 dl sweet rice flour
1 1/2 dl water
1/4 dl sugar
1 dl save-the-fish sauce 
1/ - 1 dl red pepper flakes 고추가루  
4 chopped cloves of garlic
2 tbsp chopped ginger
2 tbsp chopped onion
4 chopped scallions

Directions 

Cut cabbage twice lenghtswise. Wash thoroughly. Rub carefully with salt, making sure that salt goes everywhere. 

Leave to rest for two hours. Then massage and turn and leave to rest for another three hours.

Mix sweet rice flour, water and sugar until it becomes translucent. Cool a little and mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Wash the cabbages thoroughly - and then once again. Wring in order to get as much excess water out.

Wear gloves and carefully spread the mixture everywhere on the cabbage. Finally massage gently.

Fill into a sterilized glass jar with a sealing lid. Leave for two days in room temperature in order to ferment. Store in the fridge.

The flavor develops a lot over time.

Check out Maangchi making non-vegan kimchi for procedure details.