TEMPO.CO, Tegal – Apparently, blowfish can be processed into delicious food. The skin of the poisonous fish is often transformed into a delicious snack from Tegal. “If you know how to process it, blowfish is not dangerous,” said Dasori producer of blowfish skin crackers (kerupuk kulit) from Jongor fisherman village in Tegal, on Monday (15/4).
Blowfish poison is located in its liver and gizzard. Not only that, the meat and skin also contains poison. Therefore, the fish must be processed with caution. Dasori admitted that it takes him at least one week to process raw blowfish skin into an instant snack.
Dasori stated that since 2003, only the meat of blowfish was taken, dried, and then salted. Meanwhile, the skin was turned into waste. However, after finding out that the skin can be made into crackers, fishermen in Tegalsari, Indramayu, and Cirebon attempted to process the waste. “Nowadays, the price of raw blowfish skin is around IDR 7,000 per kilogram,” said Dasori.
Saeka, Dasori’s wife, added that they can produce 2,000 packages of blowfish skin crackers equals to 20 kilograms of skin crakcers every day.
Saeka sold her product in two packages of 90 grams and 50 grams. The 90 gram package costs IDR 17,000 and the 50 gram package costs IDR 9,000. The Retsin brand skin crackers are marketed in major cities across Java. “From Brebes to Solo, Yogyakarta, and other cities, with a monthly revenue of IDR 50,000,000,” said Saeka.
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