As an Indonesian, I prefer to spell tempe rather than tempeh. It is made from soybeans that are natural cultured and fermented into a cake form, which widely used for a staple protein source on the island of Java. According to wikipedia, though, tempe and tofu are made from the same source, tempe has a higher protein, dietary fiber and vitamins; in addition, it has a stronger flavour and firmer texture. It is been a well-known meat analogue in vegetarian cuisine as its nutrition contents. Long before people found and realized its rich nutritional value, tempe was referred to as “Javanese meat.”
In Winnipeg, tempe can be purchased in the South-East Asian grocer. You might read the tempe posts here and here before in my blog. About a couple years ago, I did love buying tempe from that store. However, I found out the stock was old, and I do not relish the taste anymore as it may keep in the store's freezer so long. I have found a better tempe at the organic food store, Organza. This store has few more tempe choices, including tempe burger, the Indonesian seasoned, original, smoked and etc. Also, there is another health store that sells tempe, Vita Health, which I have not tried the tempe yet. Both of those stores have different tempe producers.
Yeah! I have to admit that tempe becomes an expensive food since I have been in this country. It is totally different when I was in Indonesia, tempe is a reasonable priced thing.