Tapai

Packaged tapai made from cassava in Indonesia.

Peuyeum seller in West Java

Tapai (ta-pie) or tape (ta-peh), sometimes referred to as peuyeum (from Sundanese language) , is a traditional fermented food found throughout much of East- and Southeast Asia. It is a sweet or sour alcoholic paste^[1] and can be used directly as a food or in traditional recipes. Tapai can be made from a variety of carbohydrate sources, but typically from cassava, white rice, or glutinous rice.^[1][2] Fermentation is performed by a variety of moulds including Aspergillus oryzae, Rhizopus oryzae, Amylomyces rouxii or Mucor spp, and yeasts including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Saccharomycopsis fibuliger, Endomycopsis burtonii and others, along with bacteria.^[1][2] Tapai is also used to make alcoholic beverages.

Ragi Tapai

Tapai is made by inoculating a carbohydrate source with the required microorganisms in a starter culture. This culture has different names in different regions, shown in the table below. The culture can be naturally captured from the wild, by mixing rice flour with ground spices (include garlic, pepper, chili, cinnamon), cane sugar or coconut water, slices of ginger or ginger extract, and water to make a dough.^[2] The dough is pressed into round cakes, about 3cm across and 1 cm thick, and left to incubate on trays with banana leaves under and over them for two to three days. They are then dried and stored, ready for their next use.

Region	China	Indonesia/Malaysia	Korea	Philippines	Thailand
Name	peh-chu	ragi tapai	nuruk	bubod, tapay	look-paeng

Preparation

Ragi tapai is used to ferment different types of carbohydrates such as cassava, cooked white rice or glutinous rice, and sometimes sweet potatoes. The general process is to wash and cook the target food, cool to about 30°C, mix in some powdered ragi tapai, and rest in covered jars for one to two days. With cassava and sweet potato, the tubers are washed and peeled before cooking, then layered in baskets with ragi tapai sprinkled over each layer.

The finished tapai will taste sweet with a little alcohol, and can be consumed, or left for several days more to become sour.

Region	Cambodia	China	India	Indonesia	Korea	Malaysia	Philippines	Singapore	Thailand
white rice	chao	lao-chao, chiu-niang		tapai nasi	nuruk?	tapai nasi	binuburang basi, tapay basi	tapai nasi	khao-mak
glutinous rice			Bhattejaanr	tapai ketan		tapai pulut
cassava				tapai ketala, tape singkong, tape telo, peuyeum		tapai ubi kayu	binuburang ube, tapay panggi

Name of a place

It is also being used as a name of a place, Wakaf Tapai in Terengganu Malaysia. ^[3] The town is so named from the Malay words wakaf, meaning small hut for travelers resting^[4], and the word tapai.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Haard, Norman F.; et al. (1999). "Fermented Cereals. A Global Perspective". United Nations FAO. http://www.fao.org/docrep/x2184e/x2184e09.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-28. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Gandjar, Indrawati (August 2003). "TAPAI from Cassava and Cereals" (pdf). University of Indonesia. http://plantpro.doae.go.th/worldfermentedfood/I_10_Gandjar.pdf. Retrieved 2006-07-28. 
3. ^ Chinese minority in a Malay state: the case of Terengganu in Malaysia, Chee Beng Tan
4. ^ The Malayan law journal, Volume 3, Bashir Ahmad Mallal

External links

• Dominic Anfiteatro's page on Asian cultured foods