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Soy and legumes from Malang, East Java, Indonesia

Mendol (Malang fritter of over-ripe tempeh)mendol

Mendol is a fried patty from Malang made from tempeh left to over-ferment. The tempeh is kept past ripe for a few days until bacteria take over from the mould and it turns soft and dark; it is then mashed coarsely with a spice paste of kencur, garlic and shallot, shaped into ovals and deep-fried.

Fully documentedSoy and legumes5 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedHome and street-food recipe with no fixed amounts in the sources.
Over-ripe soybean tempeh[WP-id]
Spice paste of kencur, garlic, shallot, coriander, makrut lime leaf, chilli, salt and sugarGround in a stone mortar[WP-id]
StarterOnce the tempeh's own mould growth declines, bacterial fermentation takes over the over-fermentation [I3L-thesis].

Total time across the recorded steps: 5 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countMoulds28–30 °C5 days

What changes: Tempeh is left past ripe until it softens and darkens

Step 1 of 4
Let the tempeh over-ferment
Time
5 days
Reported
Temperature
28–30 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds

Output: tempe semangit.

Flavour
pungent
Texture
softer than fresh tempeh
Colour
darker hyphae and dark yellow beans

Microbes at work in this step

the mould declines and bacteria take over; protein breakdown releases ammonia, which raises the pH

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Mendol is a fried patty from Malang made from tempeh left to over-ferment. The tempeh is kept past ripe for a few days until bacteria take over from the mould and it turns soft and dark; it is then mashed coarsely with a spice paste of kencur, garlic and shallot, shaped into ovals and deep-fried. Made in 4 steps over 5 days. The longest step, let the tempeh over-ferment, takes 5 days (Astawan M 2025) and runs at 28–30 °C (Astawan M 2025). Rhizopus spp. does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step5 daysReported[Narra2025][I3L-thesis]Let the tempeh over-ferment
Temperature28–30 °CReported[Narra2025]Let the tempeh over-ferment

What makes this one different

Mendol uses tempeh deliberately kept past ripe and fries it in spiced patties. Fresh tempeh is eaten after about two days, before the mould declines.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Mendol klopo (kelapa)Tempeh mixed with grated coconut and wheat flour [WP-id].
  • Mendol pohongGrated cassava with wheat and rice flour and the mendol spices; no tempeh, so not a tempeh ferment [WP-id].

Safety

Over-fermentation at home is uncontrolled, so the product varies [I3L-thesis]. Frying cooks the patties through. The sources set no numerical limit.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Indonesian Wikipedia, citing no source for it, says Malang people made mendol in Dutch colonial times in imitation of the Dutch minced-meat perkedel, and that the name comes from the Malang Javanese word for a round lump [WP-id]. In Javanese-Indonesian cooking, semangit and bosok tempeh are often used as natural seasonings [Narra2025].

  1. [Narra2025] Astawan M., Abdurrasyid Z., Novita R.R., Damayanti A.F., Saraswati S., Wresdiyati T., Saithong P., Chitisankul W.T., Putri S.P. 2025, Exploring the hypoglycemic potential of fresh, semangit, and bosok tempe: a comparative metabolite profile, Narra J 5(2):e2327, doi:10.52225/narra.v5i2.2327paper
  2. [I3L-thesis] Indonesia International Institute for Life Sciences, undergraduate thesis on over-fermented tempeh, Chapter 1 (introduction citing Hassanein 2015, Nuraida 2008 and Djunaidi 2017)web
  3. [WP-id] Wikipedia (id), Mendolwiki