tempeh

American

[tem-pey] / ˈtɛm peɪ /

noun

Indonesian Cooking.

a fermented soybean cake.

tempeh British

/ ˈtɛmpeɪ /

noun

fermented soya beans

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tempeh

First recorded in 1960–65, tempeh is from the Javanese word témpé

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“It’s not like a cute little fuzzy pig or anything, but it’s like a cute little fuzzy tempeh slab,” said Crain.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

It's much like making miso, and results in a protein similar to tempeh.

From Salon • Nov. 12, 2024

Soybeans are also pulses, and tofu and tempeh are versatile sources of protein.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 22, 2024

To extract the protein from the spent grain, the researchers first sterilised it before using Rhizopus oligosporus, a food-grade fungus commonly used to ferment soybeans to produce tempeh, a soy-based food popular in Southeast Asia.

From Science Daily • Apr. 11, 2024

“I can’t eat tempeh, I don’t understand how you like it,” she told him.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023