Recipes from our kitchen
Tempe Barak
Crispy tempeh with red Balinese spices, palm sugar and kaffir lime
Balinese home cooking
Sweet, spicy and crispy
Tempe Barak is a Balinese tempeh dish with a rich red spice coating.
The tempeh is first deep-fried until brown and crisp, then mixed with a fragrant paste of shallots, garlic, red chilli and coriander seeds.
Palm sugar adds sweetness, while kaffir lime leaves and bay leaves bring fresh aromatic notes.
“Barak” means “red” in Balinese – a fitting name for the colour of this flavourful dish.
What you need
Ingredients
- • Tempeh
- • Shallots
- • Garlic
- • Large red chilli
- • Coriander seeds
- • Palm sugar
- • Kaffir lime leaves
- • Bay leaves
- • Salt
- • Cooking oil, for deep-frying and frying the spice paste
Step by step
How to make Tempe Barak
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1
Cut the tempeh into bite-sized pieces, then deep-fry until brown and crispy.
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2
Blend the shallots, garlic, large red chilli and coriander seeds into a smooth spice paste.
-
3
Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the spice paste until fragrant.
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4
Add the palm sugar and stir until it melts into the spice mixture.
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5
Add the kaffir lime leaves, bay leaves and salt.
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6
Add the fried tempeh and mix well. Continue cooking until the seasoning coats the tempeh and the flavours are absorbed.
A little Balinese
What does “Barak” mean?
In Balinese, barak means red. The name refers to the rich red colour created by the chilli and spice paste coating the tempeh.
From our kitchen
Fry the tempeh until crisp before adding it to the spice paste. The crispy surface helps the seasoning cling to every piece.
Cook with us in Bali
Want to make Tempe Barak yourself?
Join our evening cooking class at Oemah Tepi Sawah and discover Balinese and Indonesian home cooking together with us.
Discover Our Cooking Class