Tempeh and natto

The Sana Smart Bread maker isn’t just for making bread. One of the surprising things you can use it to make is tempeh and natto. Prepared from soybeans and a special culturing powder, these traditional southeast asian foods are healthy and worth trying out.

Tempeh

Tempeh is a traditional Indonesian food known for both its health benefits and its unique walnut-mushroom flavor. It is typically made from soybeans, but can also be made from many other foods such as beans, sunflower seeds, peanuts, peas, rice, and wheat. Previously known mainly among vegetarians and vegans, it is now becoming more widespread and popular. It can be found in most health stores, and is gradually beginning to appear in more mainstream supermarkets. Tempeh is available unflavored, as well as marinated, smoked, and pickled.

Benefits of tempeh

• Of all soy products tempeh is the most beneficial.
• It is high in protein and vitamin B12 and is a good substitute for meat for vegetarians.
• It contains all the amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, all the B vitamins and fiber.
• It has no cholesterol and is gluten free.
• It is much healthier and tastier than commercially made soy or tofu.
• It is very versatile - it can be eaten with pasta or risotto, added to soups, baked with potatoes, stewed with mushrooms or vegetables, stirred into to spreads, or simply fried or grilled
• Natural tempeh is low in calories and can is useful in weight control (by contrast, smoked tempeh has more than twice the calories).
• It is easily digestible.
• It treats and prevents some diseases. It has a positive effect on anemia, intestinal diseases, osteoporosis, arteriosclerosis and cancer, especially breast and prostate cancer.
• It reduces the unpleasant symptoms of menopause.
• It is a natural antibiotic.
• It is also suitable for children and pregnant women.

Benefits of making it yourself

• Lower price
• Maximum quality
• Freshness
• You can try different flavors

How to prepare tempeh in the Sana Smart Bread maker

Ingredients:
250 g soybeans
1 tablespoon rice vinegar or apple cider
tempeh starter (bacterial culture Rhizopus oligosporus)

Preparation: Soak the soybeans overnight and drain them in the morning. Put them in water and simmer them at a low heat for 20 minutes. Drain them again and let the soybeans cool off. Rub the beans with you hand to remove the skin. It can be tricky at first, but with practice it shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes. If you have a grain mill, you can do this much more easily. Set the grain mill for the coarsest grind and put the uncooked beans into it. This will divide the beans, and the skins will come off automatically during cooking. We recommend an electric grain mill like our Sana grain mill, which not only peels soybeans but can prepare all kinds of different fresh flour. After peeling the beans, put them back into a pot of water. Since the skins are lighter, most of them will separate. Rinse and drain the beans several times to remove all the skins. After they are peeled, cook the beans in water with 1 teaspoon of vinegar for about 1.5 hours at low temperature, keeping the lid on. Cooked beans should be soft but not mushy. Drain the beans in a colander and dry them on a towel. Put them in a pot or bowl, stir in the tempeh starter and mix thoroughly. Put this mixture in the stainless steel pan from the tempeh set and put it into the Sana Smart Bread Maker. Cover with the lid and select program 6. Set the temperature to 30-32 ° C and the time to 20-30 hours. At first, set the time to 20 hours to check the beans, and extend the time if needed. When the beans take on a white gossamer texture and are mashable in your fingers, it is “young” tempeh. If you want a more mature tempeh, wait until a whitish layer covers the beans completely. This mature tempeh, where the beans are completely covered, should be eaten only occasionally. Black spots, bad odor, or a slimy appearance indicate that the beans didn’t mature properly and should be discarded. Depending on the amount of beans and the temperature, you may need to fine-tune the baking to get the best results. Once the tempeh has the proper appearance, put it into the freezer to stop the fermentation process. This is necessary because a fridge doesn’t get cold enough to stop the fermentation process. Once the tempeh is cooled to +5 ° C, out it in the fridge and use it within a few days. You can use a needle thermometer to make sure the temperature has fallen.

Tempeh chips

Ingredients
170 g tempeh
½ cup water (can add lemon juice)
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon salt
oil

Preparation: Slice the tempeh. Thinner slices will make crispier chips. Dissolve the salt in the water and dip the slices into it. After a few minutes put the slices on a napkin and allow to dry briefly. In a frying pan or fryer to warm the oil to about 190 ° C, place the slices in the oil and fry for 3-4 minutes. When the chips are golden brown, you're done. After frying, place the chips on a napkin to soak it in excess oil. Then they are ready to eat. They can be used as a substitute where you would serve rice, or serve like nachos with a variety of sauces.
Variations: Garlic and Coriander Substitute 1 ¼ teaspoons curry.

Tips and suggestions

• Do not eat raw tempeh. Mold on tempeh which has not been heat-treated will grow in the moist environment of the digestive tract and can cause health problems.
• Make sure to cook thicker slices well. You can use the needle thermometer to make sure they reach an internal temperature of 90 ° C.
• Add the tempeh instead of meat to stews.
• Try tempeh burgers! Grill tempeh slices and serve them on whole wheat buns with veggies, tomato slices, ketchup, or mayonnaise. You can keep the burgers warm in an oven..
• The more mature the tempeh is, the more vitamin B12 it contains.
• Tempeh was discovered by accident in the Far East. Soybeans were packed and pressed into large sheets, and one day fungi were found growing on them. After discovering the taste and health benefits, people began to wrap soybeans in leaves stored in warm places to make tempeh.

Natto

Also try the other soy cheese - natto. This is a well-known in Japan, where it has a variety of uses. Some people eat natto for breakfast, and it is also used to season rice or noodles, or as a complement to the main dish. It can take getting used to, because of its slimy appearance and unusual flavor. Natto is most popular with vegetarians and those on a macrobiotic diet, due to its high content of protein and vitamins B. It can be found in some health food stores, either fresh or frozen.

Benefits of natto

• It is an excellent source of protein, calcium, iron and vitamins B
• It is easily digestible due to fermentation.
• It regulates digestion.
• It contains nattokinase, an enzyme which limits blood clotting. However, it is not suitable for people who are taking blood thinning medication.
• It helps to prevent the development of dementia later in life.
• It reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood.
• It prevents muscle cramps.
• It has the ability to cleanse the blood, which makes the skin look younger
• It contains important antioxidants and the helps in the prevention of certain cancers.
• It features the rare vitamin K2, which is normally not present in food, but is necessary for the proper utilization of calcium in our bones and helps in removing calcium from the blood vessels. Most of us lack vitamin K2.
• It is a probiotic, and helps promote intestinal micro flora, like yogurt.

Benefits of making it yourself

Natto from health food stores isn’t too expensive (about 16 CZK per 150 g), but domestic production is cheaper - for 16 CZK get 220 g natto. Using the Sana Smart Bread Maker, you can prepare this soy cheese whenever you want. Since it can be difficult to find in stores, this is a big advantage. Another plus is that you can be sure it is fresh and of good quality.

How to prepare natto in the Sana Smart Bread Maker

Ingerdients
soybeans
natto starter (bacterial culture of Bacillus natto subtilus)

Preparation: Rinse beans and soak them in water for 4-6 hours. Then pour out the water, put the beans in a pressure cooker, and pour the new water. Without a lid, bring to the boil and skim any foam and skins that surface. When no more foam appears, reduce the temperature, replace the lid, and allow them to cook under pressure. The beans are ready when they can be easily squished between your fingers (be careful of overcooking). It may take 15 to 50 minutes, depending on your pressure cooker. Wait 10 minutes before you open the pot. If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can cook the beans in a regular pot, but it will take several hours. Drain the beans through a strainer and wait until they cool to about 40 ° C (warm, but not hot). Add the natto culture evenly and thoroughly. Place beans and starter mixture into a glass or stainless steel bowl or into low jars with a wider bottom. Level off the mixture and make sure it isn’t deeper than 5 cm. Then close the container so that the air supply is reduced to a minimum. You can use plastic wrap with needles punched through in a few places. Place the container in the Sana Smart Bread Maker, select program no. 6 and set the temperature to 40 ° C. Allow the natto to ferment for about 24 hours and during this time be sure to peel off the cover. Then remove the natto from the machine and cool off in the fridge. This stops the fermentation. Properly prepared natto will have an odor of ammonia and a slimy sticky consistency. If you scoop it with a spoon, it will stretch.

Would you like to try natto, but you can’t get natto starter? Write us at [mailto: info@sanaproducts.cz info@sanaproducts.cz].

Natto spread

Ingredients
natto
onion
leek
oil
soy sauce
mustard

Preparation: Fry the onion in oil, add chopped leeks and simmer with the lid on until both are tender. Then season to taste with soy sauce and stir in the mustard. Spread it while it is still warm.

Tips and suggestions

• This method of cooking soybeans was discovered 10 000 years ago.
• Add natto to soups or salads
• Eat natto hot or cold.
• We recommend flavored with garlic, mustard, soy sauce, onion, horseradish, wasabi or anything according to your taste.
• Natto can be eaten as a sweet. Add it to yogurt, bulgur (crushed wheat) or fine flakes, and fruit. The acidic environment neutralizes odor of ammonia yogurt and crushed grain removes the slimy consistency. This way of eating natto is more popular in Europe, where we aren’t used to the stickiness and odor like the Japanese.