Devotion to Tempeh
When he visited Indonesia, a young man from Japan, Miyazaki Taiki, fell in love with tempeh. Besides being delicious and easy to make, tempeh is also highly nutritious.
Miyazaki Taiki
When he visited Indonesia, a young man from Japan, Miyazaki Taiki, fell in love with tempeh. Besides being delicious and easy to make, tempeh is also highly nutritious. Miyazaki was then moved to develop tempeh in Japan with local soybeans he cultivated.
On Friday (18/12/2020), Miyazaki just finished tidying up a 400-square-meter garden in Sagamihara, Kanagawa province, Japan. In the garden, Miyazaki grows vegetables and soybeans as raw material for tempeh. He was able to grow local soybeans after learning from local farmers. Soybean cultivation is carried out organically.
In every harvest, Miyazaki can get 150 kilograms of soybeans. He then processes the soybeans into tempeh. The tempeh is later processed into various foodstuffs such as tempekatsu and tempeh sauce for pasta. He markets the various tempeh products by himself to a number of restaurants.
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Miyazaki said the idea of making tempeh in Japan came about after he saw that many soybean farmers in Sagamihara were languishing because local farmers\' soybean yields were losing from imported soybeans, such as soybeans from Canada and the United States. In fact, the farmers want to protect local soybeans from extinction.
"The situation may be similar to Indonesia, where local soybeans are losing (to compete) with imported soybeans, which are cheaper. If the soybeans continuously fail to be sold, the farmers might stop planting soybeans. I then remembered processed soybeans, namely tempeh, which tastes so good. From there, I thought about processing soybeans into tempeh,” explained the 24-year-old who speaks Indonesian fluently when contacted from Jakarta, Friday (18/12/2020).
At that time, Miyazaki\'s tongue got acquainted with various tempeh products ranging from fried tempeh, tempeh sauce, to scrambled tempeh.
Miyazaki knows the delicacy of tempeh because he repeatedly visited Indonesia in the 2015-2018 period. At that time, Miyazaki\'s tongue got acquainted with various tempeh products ranging from fried tempeh, tempeh sauce, to scrambled tempeh. "Tempeh is delicious, healthy, and can be cooked in many ways," Miyazaki explained.
Healthy foods such as tempeh, Miyazaki added, can prevent diseases. This is suitable with the Japanese government\'s goal of implementing disease prevention programs to reduce medical expenses.
Miyazaki Taiki di kebun kedelainya di Jepang. Hasil kebun ia olah menjadi tempe yang ternyata digemari orang Jepang. Kini, Miyazaki menjadi salah satu dari sedikit orang Jepang yang mempopulerkan tempe di Negeri Matahari Terbit itu.
From there, Miyazaki seriously learned how to make tempeh. Initially he studied via the internet. Furthermore, in 2019 he came to Indonesia to learn to make tempeh at the Indonesian Tempeh House in Yogyakarta.
For two weeks he learned how to produce tempeh, starting from the introduction to raw materials, the production process, and the handling of soybean waste. After becoming proficient, he returned to Japan and started producing tempeh.
He is not satisfied just producing tempeh. He also learned to grow soybeans together, the results of which are used as raw material for tempeh. Therefore, he carries out the tempeh production from upstream to downstream.
The next challenge he faced was introducing tempeh to Japanese society. “When I sell tempeh, they ask, how to eat it? How to cook it," he explained.
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To encourage people to eat tempeh, Miyazaki processes tempeh into various types of dishes, such as tempekatsu and tempeh sauce. Customers only need to heat the tempeh in the microwave or fry again in oil. Tempeh can then be enjoyed according to their taste.
On the tempe.zaki Instagram account, Miyazaki often shares photos of processed tempeh such as tempeh pizza and tempeh burgers. He also makes tempeh sauce that can be mixed with pasta. Currently, Miyazaki has a permit for tempekatsu production. However, because he has not had a label yet, he just sells tempeh to close people.
Dedication
Miyazaki is the first of three children. His father Kenji and Chieko worked in an industrial waste transportation and treatment company. This family also opened a Japanese-style soup restaurant. In the midst of his busy life taking care of soybean field and producing tempeh, Miyazaki helps his father as a garbage carrier. Likewise, when the food shop is busy, he will help his mother do the selling activities.
“I take turns, many times. Lately, mom and dad are very busy. So I have to help works of the two of them. I wish I had an alter-ego to divide myself into the two jobs,” he said with laughter.
Parents always support Miyazaki\'s steps in life. “My parents\' principle is to try anything. We never know if we haven\'t made any trials,” he said.
On the Island of the Gods, he saw garbage piling up on the beach and on the highway. This fact made him anxious.
Because of that teaching, Miyazaki is not afraid to try new things in his life. In 2015, he visited Bali. At that time he was a student majoring in Cultural Studies at Kokishikan University in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. On the Island of the Gods, he saw garbage piling up on the beach and on the highway. This fact made him anxious.
Also read: Food Crisis in 2020
He is determined to return to Indonesia to help solve the garbage problem. A year later, he realized his dream by studying at UGM (Gadjah Mada University). He also joined volunteering activities to solve the garbage problem in Yogyakarta. He saw household garbage being collected in temporary shelters and then taken to landfills. In landfills, various types of garbage are eaten by cows. After growing up, the cows are slaughtered and sold in the market.
Tempeh produced by Miyazaki Taiki.
This reminded him of the environmental pollution cycle that occurred in Japan. In the 1970s, many Japanese were infected with minamata and itai-itai diseases. Many Japanese citizens were getting ill because they were contaminated or poisoned by food containing mercury.
At that time, the environmental condition in Japan was so bad that many fish ate trash. In fact, the habit of consuming marine fish in Japan was very high. “I am not a livestock expert and I don\'t know what the impact will be when cows eat plastic waste, batteries and rotting food. But seeing a lot of cows eating garbage made me want to do something,” he explained.
His journey to Indonesia made him get to know the people of Indonesia and one of the favorite foodstuffs of this nation, namely tempeh. Now, even Miyazaki cannot escape from tempeh.
Miyazaki Taiki
Born: Sagamihara, 15 January 1996
Education:
- Cultural Studies, Kokishikan University
- School of Cultural Studies and School of Social Science and Political Science, Gadjah Mada University
