Indigo Bumbu Pesmol, West JavaNese Food is delicious and easy
One of the many typical foods of West Java is the pesmol tilapia. Not many people know that this processed fish comes from the Sundanese area. This processed fish is a favorite of many people due to its fresh taste, with a spicy sensation that makes everyone want to eat it always.
This processed fish is quite unique, since this dish tends to have a strong spice flavor, but the taste is not too concentrated and remains fresh. In appearance, the menu of this dish of fish is yellow, as it uses turmeric. For this reason, this processed fish is also known as yellow spice fish.
Some of the spices and herbs used in making this dish tilapia are turmeric, pieces of ginger, the pecan and also the shallot. Not only does it add a strong and savory taste, the ingredient of the spice also helps to give a pleasant aroma that darkens the fish flavor of the fish flavor of the fish.
To make this traditional Western Javanese food is not actually difficult. The steps you need to take are not too many. Just that, there are some special tips, so this dish Tilapia pesmol is delicious and tempts the taste buds without fail. The following is a complete exposition of the recipes that can be put into practice.
Fish as the main ingredient, pay attention to its freshness
The first thing before starting the cooking process, you need to prepare the main ingredient, namely the tilapia. In fact, in this menu you can use any type of fish. But if you want to maintain the original feel of West Java, you should only use tilapia. Make sure you choose the fresh ones.
To choose a fresh fish, there are a few simple tips. First of all, notice the smell of the fish that you will choose. Fresh fish do not have a fishy smell that is too pungent for the nose. Fresh fish will emit a tolerable smell of water when inhaled through the nose.
In addition to the aroma, you can also check the freshness of the fish by the color of the gills. Fresh fish always has gills whose color is fresh red bloodsucking. It is different if the gills already look gray or brown, which means that the fish is no longer fresh, especially if you press the flaccid part of the belly.
Fresh fish is usually more elastic. From the color of the scales is also different. Fresh fish scales still look shiny and are not easily separated from their bodies. Meanwhile, fish that are allowed to stand for a long time have pale scales and easily detach when held. Also pay attention to the white part of the eyes of fresh fish.
If you have made sure that the chosen fish is fresh, now you can immediately begin the process of processing tilapie as a Western Javanese food . Of course, before that you need to wash the fish well at the scales. Next, grease the fish using lemon juice so that it does not smell like fish.
Prepare the ingredients of yellow pesmol spices
After choosing the fish, cleaning it, and also smearing it with lemon juice, now it is time to discuss the processing of tilapia as a typical Western Javanese food and its recipe. The ingredients needed to make pesmol spices are not too much. You can certainly easily get into the market or others.
The ingredients you need are onions and whites. Each of them amounts to eight for onions, as well as four cloves for garlic. Next, prepare and two pecans, then a finger segment for turmeric and pieces of ginger. These ingredients are for fine seasoning of pesmol later.
There are several ingredients to make yellow spices. Among them are two sheets for bay leaves, then a segment of galanga finger, two stalks of lemongrass, and do not forget to add ten grains of red cayenne pepper. This will make this food pesmol from Western Javanese even more delicious.
Do not forget to also provide mineral water around 150 ml in abundance, then seasoning in the form of chicken broth or broth of powdered mushrooms, salt and granulated sugar, so that later the taste of the pesmol spice that you make is balanced and makes the tongue swing. You can also add a little pepper to complete.
Prepare fish and also delicious fine spices
After preparing the different food ingredients typical of this Region of West Java , you will move on to the next step, namely the processing of the fish and also the fine spices in the first place. Unlike other fish, this pesmol tilapia uses fish that was fried first so that it is not too fishy.
Be sure to use enough oil to fry the fish and wait for it to warm up. The purpose of using this oil is because the fish will be fried using the deepfry method so that the fish can cook evenly. Fry until the fish is golden or yellow-brown, but not too dry.
The advice for frying the fish so that it does not burst, is to sprinkle wheat flour on top of the fish that is fried on a hot fire. If the fish has matured, drain and set aside first. Now, it’s time for you to make fine spices through pecan puree, turmeric, ginger pieces, and onions.
If it is smooth and evenly mixed, you can begin to sauté the fine spices until the fragrant aroma is smelled. Do not forget to add ingredients from bay leaves, pressed lemongrass and galangal when sautéing so that the aroma is more fragrant and delicious. Use only low heat so that it does not burn.
It’s time to switch to pesmol soup for fish
The food of West Javanese and its recipe are really quite easy to make. If the fine spices just now have a fragrance and have finished sautéing, pour the mineral water that you prepared earlier. Cook and stir until boiling and the marinade is boiled. If it has been cooked, add any other remaining ingredients.
Other remaining ingredients are some cayenne pepper, which should be cooked whole, then start the process of seasoning with mushrooms or chicken broth, some salt jumputs, and a sprinkle of granulated sugar to taste. Make sure that the correction of taste is right from the gurrh, salty, spicy, even balanced sweetness, so that it is delicious.
If you feel that it is enough to cook, now is the time to put the tilapia that was fried earlier in the pesmol soup. Make sure that the fish is well covered in pesmol soup and cook until the water shrinks and is absorbed into the tilapia meat. Soon , the specialties of West Javanese are ready to be enjoyed.
If the pesmol soup has significantly shrunk and absorbed into the fish, and the fish is already yellowish due to pesmol spices, you can pick it up and put it on a prepared plate. Be sure not to really finish the pesmol soup so that this dish is not too dry.
To serve it, you can add some additional ingredients, such as pieces of stellar fruit or green tomatoes that not only support the presentation of the dish, but also add a sour and fresh taste when eating this traditional sundanese dish.
Now the menu of pesmol tilapia or yellow spices is ready to be served. You can taste it together with your family or those closest to you. Isn’t it easy to do it? Recipes for Western Javanese food and other regions of origin tend to be delicious and easy to try.