Pecel lele khas Lamongan is a fried catfish dish that is identically served with special chili sauce. The many fans of pecel lele make this food often chosen as a profitable business idea. It is no wonder that there are many roadside stalls that sell pecel lele khas Lamongan.
In addition to the delicious taste of fried catfish, the chili sauce is also the main component that makes this dish even more appetizing. The specialty of Lamongan catfish pecel sauce or sambal bajak lies in the combination of fresh spices used. This chili sauce is made from red chili and cayenne pepper that are ground together with tomatoes, garlic, and shallots. The addition of burnt shrimp paste provides a strong aroma and a distinctive savory taste.
Although the ingredients are easy to get, not everyone can make delicious catfish pecel sauce. In some cases, the catfish pecel sauce that is made actually tastes sour. Therefore, this sauce can go stale quickly.
Well, if you want to make a long-lasting chili sauce, you can use a trick shared by YouTube user Hasan Santo Official. Through one of the videos uploaded, he admitted that he doesn't just fry the spices used for the chili sauce. The reason is, this frying technique also affects the final result and taste of the chili sauce, you know.
YouTube/Hasan Santo Official
As reported by BrilioFood from YouTube Hasan Santo Official on Friday (11/10), the spices used must be fried one by one. So first, he fried 100 grams of shallots first while stirring. After wilted and floating, drain the shallots. Continue frying 200 grams of cayenne pepper until wilted while covered so that the oil does not explode. After that, stir until floating and perfectly cooked. If so, remove and drain.
YouTube/Hasan Santo Official
Next, fry 1 kg of tomatoes. Make sure you use good quality tomatoes so that the tomatoes don't taste sour. In addition, the process of frying the tomatoes must be completely cooked perfectly with low heat so that the chili sauce is not watery and quickly stale.
YouTube/Hasan Santo Official
While waiting for the tomatoes to cook, mix the spices from 5 fried candlenuts. After that, grind them until smooth. Then add the chili, shallots, 1 full teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of flavoring, 1.5 teaspoons of dried shrimp paste, and 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Grind until smooth.
YouTube/Hasan Santo Official
Only then, add the fried tomatoes. Knead again until smooth. Well, this ready-made sambal pecel catfish can be served immediately. Guaranteed to taste good, delicious, and suitable as a stock of sambal because it lasts a long time. "This can be used for sale or fried again. If fried again it can last longer," said YouTube Hasan Santo Official.