Brilio.net - Krecek or cow skin is a popular ingredient in traditional Indonesian cuisine. Known for its chewy texture, krecek is often used as a complement in dishes such as gudeg and sambal goreng. The uniqueness of krecek makes it a favorite among various groups, both as a side dish and a snack.
But behind its deliciousness, krecek needs to be processed carefully so that it is safe to consume. Otherwise, krecek can be less safe for several reasons. First, unhygienic processing can cause bacterial contamination. Krecek that is not washed properly or cooked at a high enough temperature can be a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria, such as Salmonella or E. coli. Consuming contaminated krecek can cause food poisoning with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
In addition, krecek often contains high levels of cholesterol and saturated fat. Improper processing, such as frying with excessive oil or not removing excess fat, can increase health risks such as heart disease and high cholesterol. To reduce these risks, it is important to cook krecek with healthier methods, such as boiling or baking, and to regulate the portion of consumption.
If you want to process krecek, you also need to pay attention to the process because this food tends to be tough and full of hair. So that the results are tastier and safer to consume, you can imitate the trick of processing krecek as done by TikTok user @mamakyuli4. Through one of the videos uploaded, she admitted to only implementing a few steps. Not only that, there are kitchen ingredients that also need to be added during the process of processing krecek.
As reported by BrilioFood from the TikTok account @mamakyuli4 on Thursday (3/10), the kitchen ingredients in question are whiting lime and baking soda. These two ingredients will later be used separately because they have different functions.
photo: TikTok/@mamakyuli4
So first, prepare hot water first. No need to boil, just until bubbles appear in the pan and turn off the stove. If it is like that, put in the lime and krecek that you want to process. Stir and soak the krecek for a while, for a maximum of 50 seconds.
"Why can't it be more than 50 seconds? Because if it's more than 50 seconds, the hair will be very difficult to scrape," explained the owner of the TikTok account @mamakyuli4.
photo: TikTok/@mamakyuli4
After soaking, immediately scrape the outer skin of the krecek to remove the fur. At this stage, you can use the tip of a stainless steel spoon. If there is a part of the fur that has been scraped, immediately cut it using scissors.
photo: TikTok/@mamakyuli4
Well, even though the fur looks clean, there will usually be fine fur attached. To remove this fine fur, you can burn the krecek until it turns black and burnt. No need to worry about the taste and appearance, the black part can be immediately scraped off again with a knife.
photo: TikTok/@mamakyuli4
Next, rinse the krecek and boil it in boiling water mixed with baking soda. Well, this baking soda will make the krecek become soft quickly. Just boil the krecek for about 1 hour using a regular pan. After that, the krecek is ready to be cooked.
Having been watched more than 580 thousand times, this video about the trick of processing krecek immediately caught the attention of netizens. Who would have thought, many other TikTok users were interested. Some of them even admitted that the trick was very useful to imitate.
"What is the function of baking soda, bro?" replied TikTok @junhwiple.
"Baking soda makes him soft when boiled," replied TikTok user @mamakyuli4.
"If I burn it, I'll scrape it, then it'll be hard and then boiled for 15 to 30 minutes," wrote the TikTok account @dln.dimaschandra.
"Thanks for the knowledge, bro," commented the TikTok account @uptonaau.
"It's really useful to finally find a way to clean a krecek, my husband often gives it to his grandmother to make it look like this but he always throws it away and can't clean it, bro," explained TikTok @lianovita43.