Pan-fried tempeh a twist on traditional Indonesian dish

Whenever I see an Indonesian recipe for tempeh, I give it a try. That’s because even though I’ve been a fan of the fermented soybean cake for years, I’m still trying to unlock all its secrets, and Indonesia is where it was born.

As chef Lara Lee writes in her beautiful recent cookbook, “Coconut & Sambal,” tempeh hails from 18th-century Java, “and today it is described as Indonesia’s gift to the world. It’s used for meat-free burger patties in international street-food markets, sold globally as a substitute for bacon, and is often the star of vegan Buddha bowls served with chia seeds and other superfoods that were made famous in Bali and now have a home at brunch spots all over the world.”

I’ve marinated it, fried and glazed it, baked it in a creamy mushroom sauce and even grated it for a vegan twist on Bolognese.

But Lee’s take, a traditional dish she learned in central Java, was the first time I’ve paired it with one of Indonesia’s other great culinary gifts: kecap manis, a dark soy sauce that gives it a touch of sticky sweetness.

Lee has ties to London, where she lives; Australia, where she grew up; and Indonesia, the land of her father. I’ve never been to the latter two places, but when I make this dish — frying tempeh cubes; sauteing snow peas with lemongrass, lime leaves and ginger; tossing it all with the rich, black kecap manis — I can taste Lee’s pride in her heritage. And after reading her book, in which she writes that “eating vegetarian food in Indonesia is an enlightenment,” I’m determined to visit one day and taste it all for myself.