Tempeh Goreng
A crowd-pleasing Indonesian side built around tempeh, ground coriander and shallots — roughly 55 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 6 steps.
You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and pan. At medium difficulty across 6 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, the ingredients are plant-based.
What you'll need
Shopping list (4)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Cut the tempeh into slabs about 1 cm thick, then halve into bite-sized rectangles so they fry evenly.
- Pound or blend the garlic, shallots, coriander, turmeric and a pinch of salt into a rough paste, then loosen it with the soy sauce and water in a shallow bowl.
- Submerge the tempeh in the marinade and leave for at least 20 minutes, turning once so every piece soaks up the spices.
- Heat the oil in a wok or deep frying pan to about 175°C, until a scrap of tempeh sizzles steadily on contact.
- Lift the tempeh from the marinade, letting excess drip off, and fry in batches for 4 to 5 minutes per batch until deep golden and crisp at the edges, turning halfway.
- Drain the fried tempeh on a rack or paper towel, season with a little more salt, and serve hot with rice or as a crunchy side.
You'll use: Frying pan / skillet · Pan · Blender · Wok · Deep fryer / pot
Ingredient substitutions
- Soy Sauce
- tamari (gluten-free) · coconut aminos
- Shallots
- ½ small onion + a little garlic
What to serve with Tempeh Goreng
- Ayam Goreng Chicken
- Ayam Penyet Chicken
- Bakso Beef
- Bubur Ayam Breakfast
Tips & common questions
How long does Tempeh Goreng take to make?
About 55 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 6 steps and 9 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of soy sauce?
Try tamari (gluten-free). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Tempeh Goreng vegan?
Based on its ingredients, this recipe contains no meat, fish, dairy or egg, so it looks vegan-friendly. Always double-check labels on packaged items.
Related recipes
Tempeh Goreng is an original Indonesian recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Sambal goreng tempe.JPG by Midori, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.