One of the most amazing Asian ferments is what most Americans know as sake. Depending of the yeast it is made with, the type and polishing of the rice, the water used and of course the Aspergillus oryzae (koji) used to make it sake varies greatly in taste and style. This Sunday June 10, 2018 in Brooklyn at Brooklyn Kura in Industry City come try some amazing sakes made by the guys at Brooklyn Kura, and representatives from twelve breweries. Twelve, yes. And they will answer all your questions about sake making and enjoyment! Buy your ticket now.
Tempeh is amazing stuff. If you grind it up well and add it – gently like you’re making fluffy meatballs already – to ground meat or vegan burgers it will reduce the amount of tasty juices from your burgers that drip out especially during grilling. Add nutritional yeast to your vegan burgers and you’ll think you’re eating a cheeseburger. Or use a slice of cheese. Nut cheese even works. You can do the same to your meat burgers as well. Succulence and taste matters.
When I can’t get to my local grocery store and buy some of Barry’s tempeh or another local maker of fantastic tasting tempeh – hey it’s New York City and we speak like a thousand languages or something and have access to these things – I’ll check out the site below for recipes I forgot I liked when I first tried them, then make my own version. Or one of many recipes I’ve developed over the past few decades for tempeh, typically using something made with koji.
http://www.makethebesttempeh.org/how-to-make-betsys-tempeh.html is my favorite tempeh making site to refer people wanting to start making their own tempeh, or up their game. Betsy’s oat tempeh sausages, although modified with my own touches, are really good. And fast.
Add some miso and ground nuts or lardo to the mix after making the tempeh, and before cooking and you’re set.
Their technique that was invented decades ago is flawless and super easy. I have a few recipes in my upcoming summer release book that I hope any kid or grandparent or busy city dweller anywhere in the USA can throw together in less than 15 minutes using local ingredients.
Spores kept in fridge are required.
I’ve made up to twenty pounds of koji using their incubator set up, obviously longer than the 22 hours required for their tempeh, but now use an even simpler technique to make koji (Aspergillus oryzae or (こうじ) 麹. No reason why you couldn’t make your own koji though. You could, however, also buy that pre-made. More than a few super easy and fast recipes using already made koji in the book as well.
You don’t have to pasteurize your tempeh, but why not unless you are propagating your own spores. It will last longer and maintain it’s taste. You could freeze it as well. Portion it out before freezing if you find that convenient. Defrost in fridge.
Be careful if making spores is your goal. Aflatoxins are no joke. I don’t recommend doing that when pure spores of R.oligosporus and mixes with R.oryzae are so easy to find. I find R.oryzae better suited for other purposes than tempeh, especially if this is your first time around the block. But in the hands of our friend Jeremy Umansky and amazing team in Cleveland he’s probably working the capabilities of that subspecies quite well.
If you are looking for the Neurospora intermedia var. oncomensis spores that produce brilliant red looking products like the bacon and meat looking tempeh types, why not just buy or make some great tempeh and season it? If you’ve never tasted oncomm, made with these spores, you won’t miss the taste. I used to be able to buy it up the street near the UN where a vendor sold it and other unbelievable things sometimes no longer available in their country of origin.
Tempeh spores from here are good and cheap: https://www.tempehstartershop.com These are the ones typically sold on other sites at a higher price.
I really like these spores a lot, however, because they do the high science, organic stuff . https://tempehsure.com/product/tempehsure-organic-tempeh-starter-culture/
Not that the other ones will either, depending on what you are making your tempeh out of and if your follow good rules of safety. But if there isn’t R.oligosporus in it, I won’t touch it unless I know the chef. And she or he really knows their science and cooking.
My very dear old friend Sandor Katz whose book The Art of Fermentation is now routinely cited by scientific researchers throughout the world and Mara Jane King and their truly inspiring series that my Dad and I have watched every episode of five times now because it’s really that good – and free to watch – and why shouldn’t caregiving be fun and instructive for everyone involved fit that category.
This article in The Cleaver Quarterly really nails it. Beautiful, stunning work!
Like the people that will be at this incredible event on July 14th, 2018. that’s July 14th friends!
Come see me and Mara Jane King of Ozuke where she also sells their tasty goods throughout the country, Rich Shih of Our Cook Quest , Ann Yonetani of nyrture.com and Harry Rosenbloom of the radical cooking school amongst other things at The Brooklyn Kitchen, . There are also several other panels and hours of movies and food and an incredible after party all for $15.
We’ll have quite a few samples comfort foods you’ll swear you’ve had before and love. But you really haven’t. July 14th, 2018 – movies, food, art, discussion, and party!
