Delicious sambal made from nutritious eel livers © FAO

Kaliwungu eel village is one of the eel producers that has managed to survive and thrive in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic. One of the cooperatives there, Koperasi Mina Sidat Bersatu assisted by the IFish-FAO project each month processes around two tons of eel into unagi kabayaki, a grilled eel fillet dish with Japanese soy sauce to be marketed throughout Indonesia. Of the two tons of eels, there are 700 kg of by-products namely bones, fins, liver, and heads that are not used. In Japan, these by-products are usually processed into various dishes. When you look at up-scale Japanese restaurants in Jakarta, products such as eel liver satay and bone crackers are served at a high price per small plate.

In addition to mainstreaming the principle of sustainable fisheries in inland waters, IFish’s project document mandates gender equality, one of which is through equal access to income. Therefore, the IFish project encourages women who live in Kampung Sidat and the surrounding area to take advantage of the by-products of eel. Besides being able to provide additional income, eel nutrition is important for the nutritional adequacy of the community.

Data from the study on the nutritional status of Indonesia in 2021 noted that 17.9% of residents in Cilacap District experienced stunting problems. Eel which is rich in omega 3 and omega 6 can actually be a good source of nutrition. Unfortunately, cultivated eel fillets with price as high as 200.000 IDR per 200 grams are too expensive for the general public to afford.

To understand the aspirations of women around Kampung Sidat, IFish project held a meeting in Kaliwungu at the end of March with speakers from the Fisheries and Marine Service, Cilacap State Polytechnic and representative of the project. The meeting was held to identify the product to be made and the training needed.

The results of the questionnaire showed the most answers were eel meatballs. When confirmed to the founder of the United Mina Sidat Cooperative, he mentioned that he had made meatballs from eel by-products. The problem is that the meatballs and shredded eel are very oily so that the texture is not attractive to buyers. Until March 2022, buyers who have tried do not repurchase these products. As a result, the two by-products are considered less profitable and are not prioritized. The by-products of eel by the cooperative are then distributed free of charge and only processed for daily consumption of residents around the eel village.

The by-products are then processed into dishes such as pepes, eel liver satay, and chili sauce. It feels good. Instead of disturbing the taste, the oil produced by these by-products actually adds to the flavor. However, the meeting participants were still hesitant to market the processed eel dishes. "Products like this do not last long, so they are difficult to market," explained one of the meeting participants.

“That is not an obstacle,” said speaker from the Cilacap State Polytechnic. Through proper processing and vacuum packaging, processed foods such as pepes, eel sambals, and other delicious dishes can last longer, even up to 1 year in the refrigerator. In addition, the speaker also mentioned that eel bones can be processed into flour that can be mixed in making various cakes. Actually, at that time the eel bones had been made by the women into chips, but these products still needed to be developed further to make the texture crispier and easier to chew.

After hearing enlightenment from the presenter, refined ideas emerged. One of them brekecek sidat. Brekecek is a Cilacap specialty that uses fish heads. The head of the eel that is not used in making unagi kabayaki, has quite a lot of meat and the oil produced add to the taste of brekecek.

In the future, IFish project will continue to support the dissemination of eel by-products as an alternative income and nutrition for the community around the eel village. The project will invite culinary experts to collaborate with women around Kampung Sidat, to create recipes that are easy to replicate and have a distinctive taste that can be marketed as souvenirs from Kampung Sidat. This concept is also in line with the environmentally friendly zero waste principle, where the unused part of the unagi kabayaki processing can be turned into a source of nutrients with economic value.