Perkedel Tempe: Indonesian Tempeh Fritters
27 shares Perkedel Tempe Perkedel Tempe literally means tempeh fritters. It’s the mashed tempeh mixed with spices, eggs, and flour, then deep-fried until crispy outside. This post contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission from a qualifying purchase. Check our disclosure for more info. In Indonesia, there are so many types of perkedel,…
Perkedel Tempe
Perkedel Tempe literally means tempeh fritters. It’s the mashed tempeh mixed with spices, eggs, and flour, then deep-fried until crispy outside.
This post contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission from a qualifying purchase. Check our disclosure for more info.
In Indonesia, there are so many types of perkedel, aka fritters. There are Perkedel Jagung (sweet corn fritters), Perkedel Kacang Hijau (mung bean fritters), Perkedel Kentang (potato fritters), Perkedel Oncom (Oncom fritters), Perkedel Tahu (Tofu fritters), etc.
And here, I’m sharing the one with Tempeh.
This Perkedel Tempe is one of the ways for us to enjoy tempeh. Because tempeh tastes quite bland, you have to cook it. And cooking tempeh can be tricky. The easiest way is to slice it, marinate it in salted water, and fry it. And this Tempe Goreng, or fried tempeh, is very popular in Indonesia.
But sometimes you want a bit of variety, don’t you?
So try these fritters. They’re pretty easy and straightforward to make. And they make a nice side dish among your Indonesian food spread. You can also enjoy the fritters as savory snacks. That’s what we often do in my household.
Items You Need For Perkedel Tempe
Apart from tempeh, you also need spring onions/ scallions, garlic powder, ground coriander, ground black pepper, chilies, eggs, plain flour/ all-purpose flour, and some cooking oil to fry.
You can get the tempeh from Asian shops in Chinatown or Amazon online. Or, if you feel rather creative, you can try making it yourself.
As for chilies, you can omit them if you are not keen on them. Likewise, you can add more chilies if you prefer your fritters to be spicier. Unless you want to enjoy your Perkedel Tempe, the way the Indonesians do is by having it with fresh whole chilies or chili sauce.
And if you don’t have fresh chilies, you can always substitute them with red chili powder or dried chili flakes.
How To Make Tempeh Fritters
If you have all the ingredients ready, you will only need 10 minutes to prep the fritter batter and about 20 minutes to fry. So your tempeh fritters can be ready in half an hour. It’s ideal for you to have a quick snack.
Firstly, you break and mash the tempeh. Then, you finely slice the spring onions/ scallions and chilies.
Add the spring onions, chilies, ground coriander, garlic powder, pepper, salt, flour, and eggs into the mashed tempeh. Mix them well and thoroughly.
Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan at moderately high heat. Once the oil is hot, carefully slide a tablespoon of the fritter batter into the oil, one by one, leaving space between them.
Deep-fry the fritters until lightly golden.
Ways To Enjoy Tempeh Fritters
In Indonesia, Perkedel Tempe is a finger food that often appears as a side dish. It is often served with a menu with gravy or soup like Lamb Tongseng or Soto Ayam.
You can also serve the fritters as one of the sides for Nasi Kuning (yellow rice in coconut milk), together with Ayam Penyet (smashed chicken in chili sambal) or Ayam Suwir Bumbu Bali (Balinese spicy shredded chicken). And if you feel like having a vegetarian menu, you can also have your tempeh fritters with gado-gado.
And speaking of vegetarianism, why don’t you have this Perkedel Tempe in your buns? It makes lovely vegetarian burgers. Or, you can have it in a tortilla wrap with slices of lettuce and other veggies you like with a drizzle of chili sauce and mayo. Yummy.
How To Store For Longer
If you plan to make the fritters in bulk, you can keep them in a tight food container and store them in the fridge/ refrigerator for about 3-4 days.
And if you freeze your Perkedel Tempe, you can keep them for as long as 2-3 months.
When ready to eat them, you can pop the fritters in the oven for about 20-30 minutes at gas mark 4/ 180° C/ 350°F.
More Indonesian food recipes
Before you go, don’t forget to check out my other Indonesian food recipes that you may like.
- Sate Ayam: the Indonesian chicken satay.
- Indonesian Beef Rendang.
- Ayam Kecap Manis – Indonesian soy chicken.
- Nasi Uduk – Indonesian rice cooked in fragrant coconut milk.
- Mie Goreng – Indonesian stir-fried noodles.
- Pangsit Ayam – Indonesian chicken wontons.
- Ayam Goreng Bumbu – Indonesian spicy fried-chicken.
Thank you for reading this post. I hope you’re now intrigued to try these Tempeh Fritters. If you do, can you share your thoughts in the comments below (leave a reply)? It will be awesome.
Please follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and/ or Pinterest to sneak a peek at what’s cooking in my kitchen.
Thank you and all the best.
Perkedel Tempe – Indonesian Tempeh Fritters
Equipment
- Mixing bowls.
- Frying pan
- Slotted spoon
Ingredients
- 7.05 ounces gr/ 7.05 oz Tempeh.
- 2 scallions/ green onions/ spring onions.
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander.
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper.
- ½ teaspoon salt or according to taste.
- 2 bird’s eye chillies see the note.
- 2 eggs lightly beaten.
- ⅓ cup plain flour/ all-purpose flour.
- Cooking oil for deep-frying.
Instructions
- Break and mash the tempeh. Place it in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Finely chop the spring onions/ scallions and the chillies.
- Put the onions, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, chillies, flour and the beaten eggs in the mashed tempeh. Mix and stir well.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan. Drop a tablespoon of tempeh mixture in the oil at a time and leave space between the mixture.
- Fry the fritters at moderate-high heat and flip once. Continue frying until they’re lightly golden.
Notes
- You can omit the chillies if you don’t want your Perkedel Tempe to be spicy. And if you don’t have fresh chillies, you can substitute them with a teaspoon of dried chilli flakes or ½ teaspoon of red chilli powder. I often use red Kashmiri chilli powder.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutritional info in this recipe is only estimate using online calculator. You should refer to it as a guide only. Please verify with your own data if you seek an accurate info.
