The long lockdown turned us into quarantine chefs, but not for vocalist Alyana Cabral and Indonesia based artist Chrisna Fernand who have been experimenting with food and its roots ever since they met in an art residency program in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2019.
When lockdown started this year, they created Warung Karinderya as an outlet to share their explorations in cooking traditional, contemporary and experimental healthy food, and of course, their tempeh.
Their interest in local food and its relationship to various aspects beyond food led them to work together on Warung Karinderya, an online outlet of their dishes, which explores local food knowledge and recipes.
Visiting markets and vegetable shops in the Philippines and Indonesia gave them ideas for their menu which is influenced mainly by Asian cuisine. “We are in love with Asian culinary sensibilities, the tastes, aromas and textures that come from different cultures with rich histories. Since Warung Karinderya is technically a combination of Indonesian and Filipino food (although not limited to both), the food we make is inspired by how we were brought up—our families, our customs and traditions, and how our elders passed on their knowledge by way of cooking and eating,” the two say of their food offerings.
Warung Karinderya sells tempeh, a high-protein meat alternative commonly found in Java, Indonesia. Cabral says they started selling tempeh because of her craving. “Having lived in Indonesia for a while, tempeh sort of became a staple in my diet, as it is in the diet of the people there.”
Fernand adds, “Tempeh is quite representative of our ideals. It’s healthy, the ingredients are inexpensive and the way to process it is quite simple. The endless stories on the dining table about this food make us want to offer Tempeh to a wider range of food connoisseurs.”
Asked what makes Warung Karinderya’s tempeh different, Cabral says their tempeh is “indirectly very different” precisely because it is made and sold in Manila, where the food is very difficult to find.
“Each geographic area affects the quality of the Rhizopus oligosporus (the fungus species tempeh is made of), and how long the fungus can survive on soybeans. That is also what ultimately makes tempeh researched and processed into food that can last longer, such as the Tempeh Kering (Tempe Dry) recipe, for example, still delicious even after 2 to 3 weeks,” they say.
Cabral and Fernand recommend the simple “Original Fried Tempeh” recipe to anyone who has never tried tempeh:
Original Fried Tempeh
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Ingredients
- 1 tempe board
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of powdered broth
- Sufficient hot water
- Oil for frying
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Procedure
- Cut tempeh according to preference
- Puree the garlic, mix with hot water
- Let the tempeh soak, let stand for about 10 minutes until spices are well absorbed. If you intend to cook it for later, this can be put in the refrigerator overnight.
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The two, being activists, used the sales of their tempeh to join relief drives for the benefit of farmers. Their contribution may be small but it generates hope, the two explain. “In the future, during crises and calamities, we think tempeh may just have the potential to contribute to food-related solutions in communities here, the same way that it played a role in curbing hunger and protein malnutrition in Indonesia,” they add.
Purchase tempeh from Warung Karinderya here.
Header image courtesy of Warung Karinderya
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