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Tempe Mendoan I

Tempe Mendoan is fried tempeh coated in a thin batter of rice flour, wheat flour, garlic, shallot, coriander, pepper, salt, water, and green onion.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Garlic and coriander are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,474 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Tempe Mendoan I

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Combine rice flour, wheat flour, garlic, shallot, coriander, pepper, salt, water, and green onion to make a thin batter.

  2. Dip each piece of tempeh into the batter, coating it entirely.

Fry and serve

  1. Warm the oil in a frying pan and put it on the stove until hot.

  2. Put each piece of coated tempeh into the hot oil.

  3. Fry the tempeh until it is hardened and well done; do not wait until it becomes yellow and crispy.

  4. Remove the tempeh from the oil, letting the oil drip off so that there is not much oil on it.

  5. Serve the tempeh with soy bean sauce and sliced small chilies.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1008Calories
35 gProtein
25 gFat
163 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 13 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Tempeh100g160
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Shallot1 tbsp minced (10g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Wheatnot in our table0
Coriandernot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Garlic + coriandertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Garlic + shallottop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,000 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Clove + shallottop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,677 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Flour + shallottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,081 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Rice + wheattop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together423 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Tempeh
Forms the main body of the dish, staying firm and dense once fried.
Rice flour
Forms a thin coating that fries into a light, crisp layer on the tempeh.
Wheat flour
Adds gluten-based structure to the batter so it clings to the tempeh.
Garlic
Adds aroma and savory flavor to the batter.

The step that matters

Frying the tempeh until well done, not yellow and crispy. Frying until the coating is set and the tempeh is cooked through drives off surface moisture and gives a firm texture. Pulling it early leaves the coating soft and wet, while over-browning can make it bitter and dry.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, flour, wheat, clove, garlic, shallot, coriander):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Turmericfits better
  3. Cardamomfits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, flour, wheat, clove, garlic, shallot, coriander. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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