Tempoyak
Belacan tempoyak
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| Alternative names | asam durian, pekasam |
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| Type | Condiment |
| Course | Side dish |
| Place of origin | Indonesia and Malaysia |
| Region or state | Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Borneo |
| Created by | Ethnic Malays |
| Serving temperature | Room temperature or cold |
| Main ingredients | Durian |
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Tempoyak (Jawi: تمڤويق), asam durian or pekasam is a Malay condiment made from fermented durian. It is usually consumed by the ethnic Malays in Indonesia and Malaysia. Tempoyak is made by taking the flesh of durian and mixing it with some salt and kept in room temperature for three or five days for fermentation. Tempoyaks are usually made during the durian season, when the abundance of durian and excess production are made into fermented tempoyak.
Tempoyak is not normally consumed solely, it is usually eaten as condiment or as an ingredient for cooking; such as cooked with coconut milk curry as gulai tempoyak ikan patin (pangasius fish tempoyak curry), or mixed with spicy chili pepper as sambal tempoyak.
In Malay archipelago, fermented durian is known in many names. It is commonly known as "tempoyak" in Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and Southern Sumatra region (South Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu and Lampung provinces). It is known as pekasam in Aceh and asam durian in Minangkabau region of West Sumatra. The word asam which translate to "sour" describes its fermentation process.
Tempoyak is made by taking the flesh of durian and mixed with salt and kept in room temperature and left for fermentation process for three or five days. As a fermented food, tempoyak-making process involves a number of lactic acid producing microorganisms, or more commonly known as lactic acid bacteria. Isolated lactic acid bacteria which form colonies in fermented durian are Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus sub sp fersantum. These lactic acid bacterias inhibit the growth of harmful decomposing bacterias, such as Escheria coli, which in turn preserves the durian flesh. Besides its functions as food preservative, fermented tempoyak also serves as a natural food flavoring. The addition of tempoyak into chili paste and curry, will add distinct aroma and savoury flavour to the dish.
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