Tempeh or tempe (; Javanese: ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, romanized: témpé, Javanese pronunciation: [tempe]) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, Rhizopus oligosporus or Rhizopus oryzae, is used in the fermentation process and is also known as tempeh starter. It is native of the island of Java, where it is a staple source of protein. Like tofu, tempeh is made from soybeans, but it is a whole-soybean product with different nutritional characteristics and textural qualities. Tempeh's fermentation process and its retention of the whole bean give it a higher content of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins. It has a firm texture and an earthy flavor, which becomes more pronounced as it ages.
Etymology The term tempe is thought to be derived from the Old Javanese tumpi, a whitish food made of fried batter made from sago or rice flour which resembles rempeyek. The historian Denys Lombard also suggests that it could be linked to a later term tape or tapai which means 'fermentation'. In the western world, tempeh rather than tempe is the most common spelling, to emphasise that the final "e" is pronounced. The first known usage of this spelling is in an 1896 German article. Other spellings, such as témpé, were also used, but tempeh has become the standard spelling in English since the 1960s.
History
Tempeh originated in Indonesia. According to historical evidence, tempeh was first made in Bayat, Klaten, Central Java, and was commonly consumed around 1700. The invention of tempeh seems to have arisen through the serendipitous introduction to stored soybeans of the fungus, which is crucial in tempeh's fermentation. This fungus grows on teakwood and sea hibiscus leaves, which native Javanese people often used (and still do) as food wrappings. In fact, in traditional tempeh making, an usar (a mycelium-filled leaf) is used, instead of store-bought ragi. The type of soybean first used to make tempeh was the black soybean, which was a native plant. This later changed with the importation of white or yellow soybeans and the rise of the tofu industry on the island. While tempeh has not been prominent far from its region of origin, it was reported to have "suddenly taken off" in the United Kingdom in 2025, with annual sales of one brand increasing by 736% (and another by 128%). In North America, a compound growth rate of 6.1% is expected in the tempeh market from 2024-2030, reaching $1519.8 million by 2030.
Debate over origins Murdijati Gardjito, a food historian at Gadjah Mada University, argued that tempeh was made by native Javanese people and that its preparation predates the introduction of Chinese-style tofu products. Some ancient texts mention tempe dhele, old Javanese for 'native soybean tempeh'; dhele was used to refer to the native soybean variety. White soybeans that are used to make most tempe dhele today used to be called dhele putih ('white soybeans'), and were only available in Java centuries later. Mary Astuti, a food historian at Gadjah Mada University specializing in tempeh, argued that the native variety of soybean had been grown before the Chinese arrived in the region. Sri Tandjung noted that Javanese had been eating cooked (native black) soybeans since the 12th century. By the 16th or the 19th century, depending on which period of time the writer of Serat Centhini referred to, Javanese people had mastered the art of cooking with tempeh, when it was not only eaten as is, but converted into different types of dishes, showing a full understanding and mastery of the food product. Gardjito noted that Javanese noble families rarely wrote about tempeh in ancient texts because it had never been a part of royal cuisine, but rather a staple food of the lower classes. Indonesian historian Ong Hok Ham suggests that tempeh might have been produced as a byproduct of tahu, the Indonesian word for tofu. He argued that the two food products are made of the same ingredient and that genetically speaking, soybeans are from China, though the specific variety was never mentioned. Food journalist Andreas Maryoto supported this idea, saying that tempeh might have been accidentally produced as the by-product of the tofu industry in Java in the 17th century, as discarded soybeans caught the spores of a whitish fungus that was found to be edible. In 2025, Zaelani formalized this as the "Okara-Tempe Hypothesis", proposing that tempeh originated from okara (tofu residue) that was naturally fermented before being adapted to whole soybeans. However, tahu was (and is still) made of white soybeans (Glycine max, native to Japan and China), as opposed to the earliest version of tempe dhele that was made of native black soybeans (Glycine soja). Tahu (tofu) made its way to Kediri in the 13th century and was consumed by the Mongolians who arrived in Java. Later, it was popular only among the rich (the complex production process and imported white soybeans led to its high price). Around the 17th or 19th century, tahu became available to everyone. Tempeh later began to be made with white soybeans, leading to the decreased use of its native black variety. Black soybeans have been replaced by other commodity plants since. The original version of tempe dhele has been forgotten as tahu has become the common people's food, and dependence on imported white soybeans grows.
Production
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