Tapai

Tapai is a traditional Timorese fermented rice dish that is either sweet or sour. It can also be made from a variety of carbohydrates but typically from cassava, white rice, or glutinous rice. Fermentation is performed by a variety of molds including Aspergillus oryzae, Rhizopus oryzae, Amylomyces rouxii or Mucor species, and yeasts including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomycopsis fibuliger, Endomycopsis burtonii and others, along with bacteria.

Tapai is also used to make alcoholic beverages by inoculating a carbohydrate source with the required microorganisms in a starter culture. This culture has different names in different regions. The culture can be naturally captured from the wild, by mixing rice flour with ground spices including garlic, pepper, chili, cinnamon, cane sugar or coconut water, slices of ginger or ginger extract, and water to make a dough. 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.

Tapai is used to ferment different types of carbohydrates such as cassava, cooked white rice or glutinous rice, and sometimes sweet potatoes. The general process is to wash and cook the target food, cool to about 30°C, mix in some powdered ragi tapai, 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 ragi tapai sprinkled over each layer. The finished tapai will taste sweet with a little alcohol, and can be consumed, or left for several days more to become sour.

How to Make Tapai

Ingredients:
2 cups Glutinous Rice (sticky)*
2 teaspoons Tape Starter (Ragi Yeast)
½ cup Sugar

Instructions:

1. Soak the rice in one gallon of water overnight.  
2. Steam the soaked rice for 45 minutes and then cool to body temperature.  Be careful the rice isn't too hot as heat can damage the starter culture.  
3. Sprinkle the Tape Starter on the rice and mix with a clean spoon for a minute to distribute evenly.  Be sure to mix the starter and rice well to reduce the risk of spoilage and improve the amount of time needed for fermentation.  
4. Mix ½ cup of sugar with water.  Pack the rice in layers into a jar.  Sprinkle each layer with some sugar water, to help start the fermentation process.  
5. Ferment for 2-4 days.  After 2 days you will likely see a bit of liquid in the bottom of the jar and the odor of the rice will change to the distinctive Tapai smell.  At this point the fermentation process is complete but the taste of the Tapai will improve if kept in the refrigerator for a few days.  The liquid which collects at the bottom of the container is a rice wine called brem.  It normally has a very low alcohol content after only a few days but if fermented further, the alcohol content will increase.