Mix Up Your Meals With Tempeh

American Running Association

Tempeh (pronounced TEM-pay) is a soybean cake made by mixing whole soybeans with rice or millet. This traditional Indonesian food has the advantage of fiber over tofu, since the latter is processed without using the whole grain. For this reason, tempeh also has a higher concentration of vitamins and other nutrients.

For example, a three-ounce serving of tempeh contains 15 grams of protein; the same portion of tofu contains 6.4 grams of protein.

You can usually find tempeh in natural food stores, where it's kept frozen. It will last for several months this way, but once in the refrigerator you should use it within 10 days. It's not uncommon to find small bits of harmless mold on tempeh; as with certain types of cheese, this may be cut from it without discarding the whole cake.

The rich flavor of tempeh is sometimes described as nutty or smoky, and is often compared to the flavor of mushrooms. Its chewy but tender texture makes it a good food for grilling (first steam the tempeh).

You can also add cubes of it to spaghetti sauce, soups, chili and even casseroles. Another option is to steam and then grate tempeh and mix it with mayonnaise and celery for a tuna-salad-like sandwich spread.

The culturing process, which produces the culture Rhizopus oligosporus, is thought to be responsible for the novel taste, and likely aids in the digestion of the soybeans in tempeh. This culture also produces an active enzyme called phytase, which helps liberate additional quantities of minerals like calcium from the beans.

While tempeh isn't a low-fat food, it does provide several key nutrients in large amounts. In addition to calcium, these include potassium, protein, carbohydrate, phosphorus and magnesium. A three-ounce serving contains a whopping five grams of fiber, and almost no sodium. For a unique addition to a diet high in fiber, put tempeh in regular rotation. See below for more nutrition information.

Nutrition Facts Tempeh, cooked
Serving Size 3 oz (85 g) Amount Per Serving: Calories 167
Total Fat 10 g Saturated Fat 3 g Monounsaturated Fat 3 g Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g Cholesterol 0 g	Sodium 12 mg Potassium 341 mg
Total Carbohydrate 8 g Dietary Fiber 5 g	Protein 15 g
Calcium 82 mg Magnesium 65 mg Niacin 2 mg Folate 18 mcg	Iron 2 mg Phosphorus 215 mg Zinc 2 mg Folic Acid 0 mcg
(www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/)

(U.S. Soyfoods Directory, Physicians Laboratories, www.soyfoods.com/soyfoodsdescriptions/Tempeh.html; USDA National Nutrient Database, Release 18, 2005, www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp; Wikipedia, "Tempeh," September 2005, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh)