Journey of Germs — A Journey of Microbes, Always Changing and Moving
Journey of Germs — A Journey of Microbes, Always Changing and Moving
Tempeh ranks alongside cheonggukjang (fermented soybean paste) and natto as one of the world’s three great fermented soy foods. We spoke with Jang Hongseok, founder of PaAp, who is utterly captivated by its charms, about the fantastic world of fermentation.
Words Parc Jinmyoung
Interviewee Jang Hongseok (CEO, PaAp)
Its firm white surface can remind you of cheese. Look closely, and the shape of the beans shows through in a bumpy texture. It has no smell at all, so much so that you may wonder whether it is really fermented, but fry or grill it and the nutty flavor of the beans comes right through. Tempeh is a fermented food in which a thousand years of Indonesian wisdom and the history of the land are concentrated. High in protein, it is widely used in vegetarian cooking in the United States and Europe, yet it remains unfamiliar in Korea. PaAp, whose name comes from the phrase “Part is all, All is Part,” makes tempeh and goes a step further, introducing and researching fermented food culture. Beginning in 2018, when it first presented tempeh at the farmers’ market Marché@, PaAp has used a variety of approaches to show the value of fermentation and the virtue of putting it into practice.
Memo 1. How a Dancer Came to Make Tempeh
The ‘Tempeh Butcher Shop’ you held with the refill station *Almaeng Shop was memorable.
I had been thinking continuously about the issue of product packaging. For food, and frozen food in particular, we still haven’t found a material that can replace plastic packaging. The head of Almaeng Shop had a connection with one of our staff, so we asked to meet to get advice on alternatives to plastic. After talking it over, we decided to try selling tempeh in bulk at Almaeng Shop, with no packaging. For just one day, under the concept of a ‘Tempeh Butcher Shop,’ we sold it by weight, putting the amount customers wanted into containers they brought themselves. I really enjoyed it. Personally, I found the act of filling a customer’s own container fun, and for customers, watching a big block of tempeh being cut to order must have been an unfamiliar and interesting sight.
You started selling tempeh at the farmers’ market Marché@. I’m curious how Korean consumers’ perception of tempeh has changed.
At first, I sold it by writing orders down in a Google Sheet. I packed everything myself and shipped once every two weeks. Then we started selling on Smart Store and shipped once a week, and a few months later twice a week. Now we use a major food platform and reach customers with same-day delivery. Companies are also sending us plenty of collaboration proposals. I think these changes mean that awareness of tempeh is growing.
I heard you were a dancer before you started the tempeh business.
I originally majored in food and nutrition. After military service, I changed course to theater. Then I took part in the work of a German director, fell completely in love with dance, and began walking the path of a dancer. Later, I traveled to many places for performances, and I came across tempeh in Indonesia, which changed my life once again. In Jakarta, a local coordinator urged me to try fried tempeh for the first time. When I heard that this lump of beans was a fermented food, I was so curious. It was also a marvelous sight to see tempeh stacked like white bricks at the market. The more I studied, the more fascinating it became, so I recklessly emailed tempeh producers in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, saying I wanted to learn how to make it. Most never replied, and the few replies I got were all rejections. Then a company in Japan gave me a positive answer, so I set off right then to study tempeh abroad. I spent about five months in Japan learning tempeh fermentation from an Indonesian master.
Leaping into a completely different line of work must have taken enormous courage and strength.
I don’t like deciding the answer in advance. When I face a fork in the road, I think about just two things: can I do it, or can’t I? I decide based on that. Unless you actually try, you can never know with your head alone.
When did you become confident that you could make a business out of tempeh?
I didn’t approach tempeh as a business item. While making it, I realized that fermentation is a deeply rooted food culture in Korea and the rest of Asia, and at the same time a part of nature and the universe. What makes up our bodies is, in the end, also microbes. Through them, I wanted to discover how I move and express it with my body. But the people around me liked the tempeh I made, and making it became more and more fun. With the thought, ‘Then let’s try selling it,’ I launched PaAp.
Memo 2. Fermentation Is Nature and the Universe
Korea has its own fermentation culture, too. Is there anything about the environment or culture that makes Korea better than Indonesia for making tempeh?
The environment for making tempeh is unmatched in Indonesia. There, even without a special fermentation room, if you wrap boiled soybeans in banana leaves at home, they ferment naturally with the microbes from the leaves. In a word, tempeh is a food born of Indonesia’s particular climate and its banana leaves.
But do you know where soybeans originally come from? According to people who research Korean native soybeans, both historically and in terms of quality, they first appeared in Korea. They say the Duman River (Tumen River) was a river that carried beans, which is why the Chinese character 豆, meaning ‘bean,’ was used in its name. I’ve heard that native-soybean researchers are working hard to have this officially recognized. Being able to get good soybeans easily at home is certainly an advantage. To apply traditional, natural methods, we go through a second fermentation as well. If I had to name why PaAp’s tempeh tastes good, I think it would be that difference. Large-scale producers add vinegar to speed up the microbes’ reaction. I can’t prove it scientifically, but I believe our method is much closer to nature, and the fermented result is firmer and stronger. In fact, PaAp tempeh was served at the banquet table during a Korea–Indonesia summit, and the Indonesian president’s personal chef tried it and praised it as tastier than what you get in Indonesia.
Where would you like to travel in connection with fermented foods?
I’d like to learn more about the fermentation culture of Southeast Asia. Indonesia has many fermented foods besides tempeh. There’s sambal, a sauce similar to Korean gochujang (chili paste), and fermented dishes made from fish. Through fermented foods, I’d like to gain a deep understanding of Asian cuisine.
Has encountering fermentation changed your life?
I never had much interest in the environment or nature before. That changed after I learned that fermentation and decay are separated by a hair. When living things like trees and flowers reach the end of their lives, they fall to the ground and begin to rot. In the process, they meet microorganisms, become nutrients for the soil again and give rise to new life. That is the cycle of nature. As I came to understand this deeply, I became interested in the environment, the planet, ingredients and even agriculture. Everything is organically connected, so what attitude should I take toward life from now on? Those are the questions I began to ask.
So it became a chance to think about a sustainable life.
It’s the same with the company. I think a system has to be circular to be sustainable. In fact, I’d like to farm myself in the future, but I judged it premature, so we started with what we can do right now. For example, we help farmers who grow crops in ways that are good for the environment and for people. I believe each of those small activities will come around and eventually become a step toward farming.
Do you have any plans or dreams for the future?
First, we plan to introduce various fermented foods besides tempeh, and we’re also planning a restaurant that will present dishes made with tempeh. I’m thinking of remodeling this place, PaAp Lab, which is our research lab, into a showroom. Ultimately, we plan to run the company on the cycles of nature, for example by converting the energy used in our factory to renewable energy and farming with eco-friendly methods. Without putting it into practice, sustainability is impossible.
Note 3. We also talked about travel during the interview, but I cut it because it seemed to interrupt the flow. Sorry to leave those answers out, so I’ll close with a brief glimpse of CEO Jang Hongseok’s travel stories. His favorite destination is southern Italy. He had long imagined the Mediterranean, the fresh food and the movie-like scenery, and a performance finally brought him to Italy. After his schedule ended, he spent a month wandering the south in an old, boxy stick-shift car. It didn’t matter what he was wearing, whether he had washed his face, or what he did for a living. Travel, CEO Jang Hongseok said, makes him feel free because it guarantees complete anonymity.