The origin of Tempe / Tempeh is still considered a mystery until now. Some believe that Tempe is invented by Javanese. The record of Tempe is found in one of ancient Javanese Literature called Serat Centhini that's written in 16th century.
Other records also show that tempe might be produced using black soybeans before 16th century by Javanese Rural Community in Mataram.
The word tempe probably came from Javanese Ancient Word "tumpi"....
