Bacem or baceman is a cuisine of Central Java, also an area in the eastern province of Yogyakarta (Mataraman). Yogyakarta people like bacem which is sweetly flavored, namely with the distinctive flavor of brown sugar. “Bacem” actually is a way to preserve food products, usually tempeh and tofu. “Dibacem” means soaked in sugar water or salt, so that foodstuffs become durable.

Sometimes, tempeh bacem has no savory taste and smells unpleasant. This is usually caused by many things, such as poor quality of tempeh. Tempeh is a processed food made from soybeans fermented with yeast, so yeast quality is what will affect the quality of tempeh. To minimize the tempeh not so pleasant smell, the key is in the initial processing of tempeh - When preparing the boiling water, put tempeh in with bay leaves and salt before adding other spices.
Furthermore, to get a taste more savory and delicious, you can use coconut water to boil tempeh and other spices. The use of coconut water will also soften the texture of tempeh, so that when eating tempeh it will not feel hard. Coconut water will make bacem more sweet and delicious.

Tempe bacem is a sweet and tasty, delicious dish served as a complement to a family dinner. No need to bother with difficult prep, because making tempeh bacem is quite simple and practical.