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Fermentation Atlas

Soy and legumes from Meghalaya, India

Tungrymbaitungrymbai

sticky fermented beans sold in lamet or banana leaves; curry, soup, pickle. Made in 4 steps over 3.2 days – 5.3 days. The longest step, pack in leaf-lined bamboo basket, embers on top, cover, ferment over the fireplace, takes 3–5 days (Tamang JP. Naturally fermented ethnic soybean…) and runs at 25–40 °C (Tungrymbai). Bacillus subtilis and B. licheniformis do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3–5 daysSourced[T2015][NEHU-tung]Pack in leaf-lined bamboo basket, embers on top, cover, ferment over the fireplace
Temperature25–40 °CSourced[NEHU-tung]Pack in leaf-lined bamboo basket, embers on top, cover, ferment over the fireplace
DocumentedSoy and legumes3.2 days – 5.3 daysMore soy and legumesMore from India

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
soybeans
often dehulled
Starter: spontaneous; LAB starters (Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus helveticus) tested 2024 (search summary)

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.2 days – 5.3 days

Start
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Close-up: water moving into a bean

What changes: Soybeans soak and their coats are rubbed off

Step 1 of 4
Soak and dehull
Time
4–6 h
Sourced
Temperature
ambient
Unconfirmed
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Bacillus
B. subtilis

Output: dehulled beans.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
dehulled cotyledons
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

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

Safety

LAB isolates produced no bacteriocins or biogenic amines in tests [T2015].

History and sources

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

Agrahar-Murugkar & Subbulakshmi 2006 described preparation (Ecol Food Nutr 45:27-38) [cited in T2015].

  1. [T2015] Tamang JP. Naturally fermented ethnic soybean foods of India. J Ethnic Foods 2015;2:8-17. doi:10.1016/j.jef.2015.02.003paper
  2. [NEHU-tung] Tungrymbai – a traditional fermented soybean food of the ethnic tribes of Meghalaya (Indian J Traditional Knowledge). (read via search summary only)paper
  3. [s3] English Wikipedia, Tungrymbaiwiki