''Tapai'' (also ''tapay'' or ''tape'') is a traditional fermented preparation of rice or other starchy foods, and is found throughout much of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, especially in Austronesian cultures, and parts of

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

. It refers to both the alcoholic paste and the alcoholic beverage derived from it. It has a sweet or sour taste and can be eaten as is, as ingredients for traditional recipes, or fermented further to make

rice wine Rice wine is an alcoholic beverage fermentation, fermented from rice, traditionally consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia, where rice is a quintessential staple crop. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch, during wh ...

(which in some cultures is also called ''tapai''). ''Tapai'' is traditionally made with white rice or

glutinous rice Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated plants or domesticated animals. Domesticated animals tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their wild counterparts; they may also hav ...

, but can also be made from a variety of carbohydrate sources, including

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

and potatoes. Fermentation is performed by a variety of moulds including '' Aspergillus oryzae'', '' Rhizopus oryzae'', '' Amylomyces rouxii'' or '' Mucor''

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, and

yeasts Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitu ...

including ''

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' () (brewer's yeast or baker's yeast) is a species of yeast (single-celled fungal microorganisms). The species has been instrumental in winemaking, baking, and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to have be ...

'', and '' Saccharomycopsis fibuliger'', '' Endomycopsis burtonii'' and others, along with bacteria.

Etymology

''Tapai'' is derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tapay ("fermented ood), which in turn is derived from Proto-Austronesian *tapaJ ("fermented ood). Derived cognates has come to refer to a wide variety of fermented food throughout Austronesia, including

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

ed bread and

. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tapay-an also refers to large earthen jars originally used for this fermentation process. Cognates in modern Austronesian languages include '' tapayan'' ( Tagalog), '' tapayan'' ( Maguindanaon), ''tepayan'' ( Iban), and '' tempayan'' ( Javanese and Malay).

Starter culture

''Tapai'' is made by inoculating a

carbohydrate A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ...

source with the required

microorganisms A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from antiquity, with an early attestation in ...

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 Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

), cane sugar or

coconut water Coconut water (also coconut juice) is the clear liquid inside young coconuts (fruits of the coconut palm). In early development, it serves as a suspension for the endosperm of the coconut during the nuclear phase of development. As developm ...

, slices of

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

or ginger extract, and water to make a

dough Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops). Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes ...

. The dough is pressed into round cakes, about 3 cm 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.

Preparation

Traditional

Traditionally, cooked white rice or

are fermented in '' tapayan'' jars. Depending on the length of time and various processes, ''tapai'' will result in a large number of end products. These include slightly fermented dough used for

rice cakes A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten. Common variations include ...

(Filipino '' galapong''); dried fermented cakes (Indonesian '' brem'' cakes); fermented cooked rice (Filipino ''buro'', ''tapay'', ''inuruban'', ''binubudan'', ''binuboran''; Indonesian/Malaysian ''tapai'' or ''tape''); fermented rice with shrimp (Filipino ''buro'', ''balaobalao'', ''balobalo'', ''tag-ilo''); fermented rice with fish (Filipino ''buro''); or various rice wines (Filipino '' tapuy'', ''tapey'', ''bubod'', '' basi'', '' pangasi''; Indonesian '' brem'' wine).

Modern

Fermented rice gruel/paste

In modern times, in addition to rice, different types of

carbohydrates A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ma ...

such as

or sweet potatoes can also be used. The general process is to wash and cook the target food, cool to about 30 °C, mix in some powdered starter culture, 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 starter culture sprinkled over each layer. The finished gruel will taste sweet with a hint of

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

, and can be consumed as is, or left for several days more to become more

sour The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste. Taste is the perception stimulated when a substance in the mouth biochemistry, reacts chemically with taste receptor cells l ...

. In Thailand, ''khao mak'' (, ), also known as "Thai fermented sweet rice dessert", is fermented for several days, resulting in an alcohol content of just over one percent. It has a noticeable alcohol flavor with a sweet taste and is often packaged in banana leaves. ''Look pang'' is the traditional fermentation starter used to make ''khao mak''. ''Look pang'' is a starch ball which contains

mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal ...

(''Aspergillus'' species, ''Rhizopus'' species, and ''Mucor'' species) and

(''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' and ''Candida'' species) inoculum in rice flour mixed with herbs such as pepper, garlic and

galangal Galangal () is a rhizome of plants in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, with culinary and medicinal uses originating in Indonesia. It is one of four species in the genus ''Alpinia'', and is known for its pungent, aromatic flavor. Greater gal ...

as an antibacterial agent. Its shape is a semicircular with 3-4 cm diameter. In the Khuan Don District, Satun Province it is called ''tapai''.

Rice wine

Uses in cuisine

Indonesia

''Tapai'' and its variants are usually consumed as it is; as sweet mildly-alcoholic snacks, to accompany tea in the afternoon. The sweet fermented ''tapai'' however, are often used as the ingredient in a recipe of certain dishes. Sundanese cassava ''peuyeum'' is the main ingredient for ''colenak''; a roasted fermented cassava ''tapai'' served with ''kinca'' a sweet syrup made of grated coconut and liquid palm sugar. ''Colenak'' is Sundanese

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of ''dicocol enak'' which translates to "tasty dip". ''Tapai uli'' is a roasted block of bland-tasted ''ketan'' or ''pulut'' (glutinous rice) served with sweet ''tapai ketan'' or ''tapai pulut''. The ''peuyeum goreng'' or ''tapai goreng'', or known in Javanese as ''rondho royal'' is another example of Indonesian '' gorengan'' (assorted fritters), which is deep fried battered cassava ''tapai''. In beverages, ''tapai'', both cassava or glutinous rice, might be added into sweet iced concoction desserts, such as '' es campur'' and '' es doger''.

Philippines

In the Philippines, there are various ''tapay''-derived dishes and drinks. They were originally referred to by the term ''tinapay'' (literally "done through ''tapay''), as recorded by Antonio Pigafetta. But the term ''tinapay'' is now restricted to "bread" in modern Filipino languages. The most common use of fermented rice is in '' galapong'', a traditional Filipino viscous rice dough made by soaking (and usually fermenting) uncooked

overnight and then grinding it into a paste. It is used as a base for various '' kakanin'' rice cakes (notably '' puto'' and ''

bibingka ''Bibingka'' (; ) is a type of baked rice cake in Filipino cuisine that is cooked in a terracotta oven lined with banana leaves and is usually eaten for breakfast or as merienda (mid-afternoon snack), especially during the Christmas season. I ...

''). Fermented gruel-type ''tapay'' are also common, with various ethnic groups having their own versions like Tagalog and Kapampangan ''buro'', the Ifugao ''binuburan'', and the Maranao and Maguindanao ''tapay''. These are usually traditionally fermented with or paired with fish or shrimp (similar to Japanese '' narezushi''), as in '' burong isda'', '' balao-balao'', or '' tinapayan''. Rice wines derived from ''tapay'' include the '' basi'' of Ilocos and the '' tapuy'' of Banaue and Mountain Province. ''Tapuy'' is itself the end product of ''binuburan'' allowed to ferment fully.

References

External links

Dominic Anfiteatro's page on Asian cultured foods
{{Malaysian cuisine Fermented foods Bruneian cuisine East Timorese cuisine Indonesian snack foods Malaysian snack foods Filipino cuisine Cassava dishes