The beans will serve as a substrate for the mycelium which will bind the beans into a compact block of tempeh. You can use any kind of legumes to make tempeh, such as soybeans, azukis, lentils, chickpeas, black beans, red beans, or peanuts.
Traditionally, tempeh is made from soybeans. Soy tempeh is the richest in protein and is also the easiest to ferment. Perfect for newbies. But tempeh made from other legumes reveals many interesting textures and tastes. Once you are familiar with tempeh fermentation, we encourage you to explore!
Some beans need to be dehulled
If you are working with whole soybeans or chickpeas, the first step is to dehull them. Indeed the hulls of those beans are a formidable barriers that the mycelium can not traverse to access the nutrients. If you want to avoid this step, there are split soybeans or “chaka dal” chickpeas on the market where the bean hulls have already been removed. It will definitely save you time
Alternatively, here are two ways to dehull the beans:
A. Crack the beans
Cracking the beans with a simple hand grinder causes the hulls to fall off the beans. Make sure to set the parameters large enough to obtain a two-piece grinding and not a powder.
B. Massage the beans
Another method is to massage the beans after soaking.
- Soak the beans in water overnight or cook for 20 minutes
- Massage them in a basin to remove the hulls
- Remove the hulls from the water by pouring the water from the basin. The hulls will come out first
- Repeat until there are almost no hulls left (Please, use the same water using a colander and second container)
