Tempoyak ( Jawi: تمڤويق), asam durian or pekasam is a

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is served separat ...

made from fermented durian. It is usually consumed by the

ethnic Malays Malays ( ms, Orang Melayu, Jawi: أورڠ ملايو) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to eastern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands that lie between these locations — areas that are col ...

Maritime Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. Maritime Southeast Asia is sometimes also referred to as Island Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia or Oceanic Sout ...

, notably in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. 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 ''Gulai'' is a class of spicy and rich stew commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The main ingredients of this dish are usually poultry, goat meat, beef, mutton, various kinds of offal, fish and seafood, as well as vegetables su ...

tempoyak ikan patin'' (

pangasius ''Pangasius'' is a genus of medium-large to very large shark catfishes native to fresh water in South and Southeast Asia. The term "pangasius" is sometimes used to specifically refer to the commercially important basa fish, ''P. bocourti''. T ...

fish tempoyak curry), or mixed with spicy chili pepper as ''

sambal Sambal is an Indonesian chilli sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of a variety of chilli peppers with secondary ingredients, such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. ''Sambal'' is an ...

tempoyak''.

Fermentation

In the Malay archipelago, fermented durian is known by many names. It is commonly known as ''tempoyak'' in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and Southern Sumatra region (South Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu and Lampung provinces). It is known as ''pekasam'' in

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...

and ''asam durian'' in the Minangkabau region of

West Sumatra West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5,534,472 at the 2020 cen ...

. The word ''asam'' which translates to "sour" describes its fermentation process. Tempoyak is made by taking the flesh of durian and mixing it with salt or sugar. It is kept at room temperature and left to ferment for three to five days. As a fermented food, the tempoyak-making process involves a number of different

lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillales are an order of gram-positive, low-GC, acid-tolerant, generally nonsporulating, nonrespiring, either rod-shaped ( bacilli) or spherical ( cocci) bacteria that share common metabolic and physiological characteristics. These bact ...

. Isolated lactic acid bacteria which form colonies in fermented durian are ''

Lactobacillus casei ''Lacticaseibacillus casei ''is an organism that belongs to the largest genus in the family ''Lactobacillaceae'', a lactic acid bacteria (LAB), that was previously classified as ''Lactobacillus casei-01''. This bacteria has been identified as facu ...

'' and ''

Lactobacillus rhamnosus ''Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus'' (previously ''Lactobacillus rhamnosus'') is a bacterium that originally was considered to be a subspecies of '' L. casei'', but genetic research found it to be a separate species in the ''L. casei'' clade, which ...

subsp. fersantum''. These lactic acid bacteria inhibit the growth of harmful decomposing bacteria, such as ''

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...

'', which in turn preserves the durian flesh. Besides its functions as a food preservative, fermented tempoyak also serves as a natural food flavoring. The addition of tempoyak into chili paste and curry can add a distinct aroma and savoury flavour to the dish.

History

Just like many fermented food products in the region (e.g. ''

belacan Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed shrimp or krill mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks. They are eith ...

'', ''

pekasam Pekasam, Pakasam or Bekasam is a Malay term for fermented food, more precisely fermented fish product. In Malay and Banjar cookery, pekasam usually refers to freshwater fish fermented with salt, palm sugar, toasted rice grains and pieces of ' ...

'', ''

cincalok Cincalok is a Malay dish that originated in Malacca, Malaysia, consumed by Malay, Peranakan and Kristang. It can trace its origin during Portuguese occupation of Malacca. In Malacca, the shrimp is called udang geragau. This dish made up of ...

'', '' budu'', and ''

tapai ''Tapai'' (also ''tapay'' or ''tape'') is a traditional fermented preparation of rice or other starchy foods, and is found throughout much of Southeast Asia, especially in Austronesian cultures, and parts of East Asia. It refers to both the ...

''), tempoyak was probably discovered unintentionally; from the excessive unconsumed durian and thus left fermented, during the abundance of durian season in the region. Tempoyak is mentioned in

Hikayat Abdullah Hikayat Abdullah (حكاية عبدالله) is a major literary work by Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir, a Malacca-born Munshi of Singapore. It was completed in 1845 and first published in 1849, making it one of the first Malay literary texts to be pub ...

as a staple food for the people of Terengganu. When Abdullah Abdul Kadir visit

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith" ...

around the year 1836, he said that one of the favorite food of the local resident is Tempoyak. Based on Hikayat Abdullah, tempoyak is a food special to the

, and a speciality of the states of the east coast of the Malay Peninsula.

Temerloh Temerloh is a municipality in central Pahang, Malaysia. Temerloh has been proven to be the "centre of Peninsular Malaysia" (Malay: ) 3TS, which is situated at Kampung Paya Siput, Lanchang. Located about from Kuala Lumpur along the Kuantan–Kua ...

in Pahang, Malaysia is known as the capital for ''ikan patin'' because of its fish farms and also its restaurants offering savoury ''ikan patin masak tempoyak'' (silver catfish cooked in fermented durian gravy). In Indonesia, tempoyak is exceptionally popular in Southern Sumatra, especially in Palembang, where ''tempoyak ikan patin'' (pangasius fish in tempoyak sauce), and ''brengkes tempoyak'' (tempoyak fish in banana leaf package) is a popular local specialty.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, tempoyak is especially popular in Palembang, and also in other cities and provinces in

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

such as

Riau Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Accord ...

, Jambi,

Bengkulu Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southwest coast of Sumatra. It was formed on 18 November 1968 by separating out the former Bencoolen Residency area from the province of South Sumatra under Law No. 9 of 1967 and was fi ...

Lampung Lampung ( Lampung: ), officially the Province of Lampung ( id, Provinsi Lampung) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra. It has a short border with the province of Bengkulu to the northwest, and ...

and also

Pontianak Pontianak or Khuntien is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded first as a trading port on the island of Borneo, occupying an area of 118.31 km2 in the delta of the Kapuas River at a point where it is joined ...

Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...

. In Palembang the dish ''tempoyak ikan patin'' (''

Pangasius ''Pangasius'' is a genus of medium-large to very large shark catfishes native to fresh water in South and Southeast Asia. The term "pangasius" is sometimes used to specifically refer to the commercially important basa fish, ''P. bocourti''. T ...

'' catfish in tempoyak sauce) and '' brengkes (pepes) tempoyak'' are well known, which is a steamed fermented durian paste in

banana leaf The banana leaf is the leaf of the banana plant, which may produce up to 40 leaves in a growing cycle. The leaves have a wide range of applications because they are large, flexible, waterproof and decorative. They are used for cooking, wrappin ...

container, usually mixed with ''patin'' (''

'' fish) as ''brengkes ikan patin tempoyak''. A spicy condiment called ''

tempoyak'' is made from the mixture of fermented durian, ground ''

'' (shrimp paste) and chili pepper. Brengkes Tempoyak Iwak Lais Palembang 1

, tempoyak is made as ''sambal seruit tempoyak''. ''Seruit'' is shredded fried freshwater fishes, such as ''patin'' (''Pangasius''), ''baung'' (''

Hemibagrus ''Hemibagrus'' is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Bagridae. The genus ''Hemibagrus'' is known from Southeast Asia, India, and southern China. Members of this genus are found ubiquitously in river drainages east of the G ...

''), ''lais'' (''

Kryptopterus ''Kryptopterus'' is a genus of catfishes belonging to the family Siluridae. They are found in freshwater throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek ''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυ� ...

''), ''belida'' ( Giant featherback) or ''mas'' (

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

), mixed with ground chili pepper, tomato, shallot, shrimp paste, lime juice, young unripe

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

, salt and tempoyak. In

and

, tempoyak is usually served as spicy condiment as ''sambal tempoyak'', mixed with red chili pepper, fresh shrimp or ''teri'' (anchovy) and ''petai'' ( green stinky bean).

Malaysia

In Malaysia, tempoyak is specifically popular in the state of

Pahang Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...

and

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

, yet it is also can be found elsewhere, from Kuala Lumpur to

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

. In Malaysia, tempoyak is an essential ingredient for ''

tempoyak ikan patin'' (

fish tempoyak curry) and for cooking soup with ''tang hoon'' or glass noodles.

is known for farmed ikan patin (Shark catfish ) mostly the

Swai The iridescent shark, iridescent shark catfish (''Pangasianodon hypophthalmus'') is a species of shark catfish (family Pangasiidae) native to the rivers of Southeast Asia. Despite its name, it is not a shark. It is found in the Mekong basin as we ...

a fish known for a popular traditional dish, patin masak tempoyak (cooked with fermented durian), and another local favorites such as pais patin (grilled with tempoyak) and deep-fried with chilies. In Sarawak, tempoyak is available in the marketplace. The taste is said to be sour and salty with a lot of nutty, durian flavours.

External links

Brengkes Tempoyak Ikan Patin recipe
Palembang style steamed pangasius fish with spicy tempoyak in banana leaf package recipe, from Femina
Patin in Fermented Durian Paste (Gulai Tempoyak Ikan Patin)
from Kuali

References