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Tempe mendoan
Battered fried tempeh
Thin slices of tempeh in a herby spring-onion batter, flash-fried until just set and still soft
Mendoan comes from Banyumas in Central Java, and in Purwokerto it's sold by the stack at every roadside stall, eaten warm with a raw bird's eye chilli bitten between mouthfuls or dunked in sweet soy. The name comes from the Banyumas word mendo, meaning half-cooked: the batter is deliberately fried only until set and pale, so it stays soft and bendy rather than crisp. Make it with thin, wide tempeh slices so each one is mostly batter and herbs. Chef's tip: fry for barely a minute a side in very hot oil and pull the slices out while they're still pale gold and floppy — that limp, tender texture is the whole point.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the batter
- 3 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 oz rice flour
- 3 cloves garlicpounded to a paste
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ cup cold water
- 4 spring onionsthinly sliced
- 1 handful Chinese celery leaves or corianderchopped
- 10 ½ oz tempehin wide slices about 5 mm thick
- 1 ¾ cups vegetable oilfor shallow frying
For the dip
- 3 red bird's eye chilliessliced
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Whisk 3 ½ oz plain flour, 1 oz rice flour, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tsp ground coriander, ¼ tsp ground turmeric and 1 tsp salt with ¾ cup cold water to a smooth batter about as thick as single cream. Stir in 4 spring onions and 1 handful Chinese celery leaves or coriander; there should be lots of green.
3 minStep 2: Mix 4 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) with 3 red bird's eye chillies in a small bowl for dipping. Where people often go wrong is a batter that's too thick and floury; it should run off the spoon, not sit on it.
1 minStep 3: Heat 1 ¾ cups vegetable oil in a wide frying pan over a high heat until a drop of batter sizzles hard and rises at once, about 350°F.
4 minStep 4: Dip each 10 ½ oz tempeh slice in the batter so it's thickly coated, letting some drip back. Lay 3–4 slices in the oil, away from you.
2 minStep 5: Fry for 45–60 seconds a side, just until the batter is set and pale gold in spots, then lift out. Don't wait for it to go crisp and brown: mendoan should bend. Fry the rest in batches, letting the oil come back to temperature between them.
6 minStep 6: Drain briefly on kitchen paper and eat hot with the chilli kecap. They lose their charm once cold.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 15 g
- Carbs
- 26 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tempe mendoan take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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