sauce, read the label carefully, and avoid
products that include added flavorings and
colors.
Tempeh Tempeh was invented in Indonesia,
and unlike miso and soy sauce is not a salty
preserved condiment but an unsalted, quick-
fermented, perishable main ingredient. It’s
made by cooking whole soybeans, forming
them into thin layers, and fermenting with a
mold, Rhizopus oligosporus or R. oryzae, for
24 hours at a warm, tropical temperature (85–
90ºF/30–33ºC). The mold grows and produces
thread-like hyphae, which penetrate the beans
and bind them together, and digest significant
amounts of protein and oil to flavorful
fragments. Fresh tempeh has a yeasty,
mushroomy aroma; when sliced and fried, it
develops a nutty, almost meaty flavor.
Natto
Natto has been made in Japan for at least
1,000 years, and is notable for being distinctly