Contemporary Design

Fungi Feast: Experimenting with Tempeh

by Taísa Helena Ribeiro

two white plates with tempeh-based biomaterial on them

This project was my first interaction Tempeh – a traditional Indonesian recipe made from fermented soybeans. The mycelium grows around the soybeans creating a soft white structure. I was driven by the possibilities of growing the mycelium on different beans and cereals and if it is possible to shape the tempeh in a way that it could be used as tableware. Understanding the way of making tempeh from scratch and the right conditions to grow the mycelium was the first stage of this research. Secondly, different cereals and beans were tested. The process of tempeh growing has very specific temperature and duration, which made the results limited to the available time of this course. I was able to experiment with four different beans in three different batches. The next step would be trying to shape it in the growing process and in the cooking process.

Black Eye bean tempeh

a minigrip bag of mixture of mycelium and black eye beans — Batch three

results of grown mycelium black eye bean mixture on a plate — Results, batch three

sideview of a cut black eye bean mycelium mixture — Cut, batch three

Garbanzo bean tempeh

a minigrip bag of bean mycelium mixture — batch three

a mixture of grown mycelium mixed with garbanzo beans on a plate — Results of batch three

Lentils tempeh

a minigrip bagful of lentils mixed with mycelium — Batch three

lentils tempeh mycelium mixture cut and shown from a side — Cut, batch three

CFH Traditional Tempeh Starter Culture Instructions

308.11 K

Published: 7.9.2021
Updated: 21.9.2021