Help me find this Malay snack

September 19, 2007 11:35 AM

Savory Malaysian soybean bar a co-worker brought from home > 10 years ago. It wasn't too spicy-hot. It was made in a pan and cut into squares like brownies; individual soybeans were discernable. I'm pretty sure it wasn't fermented. I want to make it or something very like it. Anybody know a recipe, or what it's called?
posted by amtho to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

Could it have been tempeh? It's made by fermentation but it's not fermented-tasting — it's really very mild unless you marinate it in something — and it's got little chunks of soybean in it like you describe.
posted by nebulawindphone at 11:56 AM on September 19, 2007

I too suspect that you're talking about tempeh, which can be purchased in most supermarkets in the produce section where they segregate the other soy foods. It's very good. You may have been eating a homemade version of the stuff.

The Book of Tempeh has tons of recipes, as well as methods on how to make it (it isn't hard, but does require purchasing the fungi that is used to bind the soybeans together).
posted by OmieWise at 1:04 PM on September 19, 2007

Response by poster: I thought about that, but I don't think so. This had whole or half soybeans in it (I'm 90% sure there were a lot of whole soybeans), and there was a delicious sauce/seasoning mixed in. Any sauce was solidified with the bar; it wasn't drippy or anything.

Also, I'm pretty sure I knew about tempeh back then, and would have remembered if that was it.

These bars are eaten out of hand, warm or at room temp, and were delicious. I think it was mixed together and baked; there may have been marinading involved.
posted by amtho at 1:14 PM on September 19, 2007

Response by poster: I also think I remember it being kind of a deep reddish brown color, in case that helps.
posted by amtho at 1:16 PM on September 19, 2007

Reddish brown makes me think it was red bean, not soybeans, are you sure it was soy?
posted by mphuie at 1:30 PM on September 19, 2007

I'm Malaysian and that sounds like Malaysian tempeh to me. The sauce would make it reddish brown.
posted by divabat at 4:44 PM on September 19, 2007

Response by poster: The girl who brought it in definitely said it was soybeans. I remember buying a bunch of dried soybeans and trying to figure it out myself, using brown sugar and I can't remember what all else.

divabat - sauce? Can you tell me about this sauce?
posted by amtho at 6:42 PM on September 19, 2007

oh sorry, not really a sauce. I think it's just the fermentation that makes it kinda brown-ish.

Here's a recipe. Looks like they use some kind of yeast?
posted by divabat at 2:31 PM on September 20, 2007