Chef Rudy cooks up a storm with giant tuna delicacy
By Stevie Emilia
JAKARTA (JP): Does your kitchen have what it takes to cook a 1.75-meter-long, 90-kilogram tuna as pepes, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed?
The most likely answer is "No way". Still, popular chef Rudy Choirudin Soedarso proved that cooking up a giant pepes tuna is fun and, not incidentally, a good means to garner free publicity.
The host of the Resep OK Rudy cooking show on RCTI every Saturday hopes his feat will be worthy of a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
Accompanied by actress Dian Nitami and comedian Eko Patrio as presenters, Rudy wheeled out the gigantic dish -- he called it the "Millennium Fish" -- to a huge audience at Megamal Pluit in North Jakarta on Wednesday.
Ten bodybuilders, covered from head to toe in silver body paint, carried the gargantuan fish on a long wooden slab, followed by 10 women moving to the pounding background music.
Audience members gasped in disbelief and jostled for a view of the pepes, which was garnished with slices of lemon, tomatoes and fresh vegetables.
"Gee, who can finish all of that?" an elegantly clad woman mumbled. "Is it really the longest tuna pepes in the world?" asked another.
A little girl pulled away from her mother and strode under the glaring eyes of the audience for a closer look at the tuna. She would have touched it if her mother was not fast enough to grab her.
There was no denying it was an extraordinary culinary feat, not least because it was the whole fish, not cut into pieces and steamed individually as people may have assumed.
Rudy ordered a special steamer to handle its size. To some, the oversize steamer resembled a giant coffin.
"A neighbor of mine asked me if someone had died when he saw the steamer I put in my yard," Rudy said, bursting into laughter.
Rudy came up with the idea after being challenged to do something really "different" to mark RCTI's anniversary and the dawn of the new millennium. The private TV station celebrates its 10th anniversary on Aug. 24.
After deciding on the idea to prepare the pepes by mixing recipes from Sundanese, Javanese, Manadonese and West Sumatran cuisine, it was time to pick the most suitable fish.
"I had three alternatives and I picked tuna because people are more familiar with it (than the other two)," Rudy said.
With the help of the fishery agency, he obtained the tuna from the Jakarta Bay. The fish was shorter than the two-meter-long one he initially imagined. It took him two days to prepare the giant pepes.
In the first 24 hours, the tuna was slashed, with 40 incisions on each side, before being marinated with six kilograms of salt, six kilograms of vinegar and the juice of 70 lemons. He also put lemon slices in each slash before wrapping the fish in plastic and putting it in a freezer.
The next day, the real work began. Spices -- including green and red chilies, ginger, onion, garlic, salt, sugar -- were prepared and rubbed into the fish. It was wrapped in banana leaves for the steaming for the next 24 hours using four stoves.
Regular pepes usually needs from three hours to six hours to prepare.
"The pepes can be served to about 300 people," Rudy said proudly. Viewers will be able to see the process by watching his show on Aug. 21 and Aug. 28.
His fans, mostly housewives, came from across Greater Jakarta to see their favorite chef at work.
Tati saw an TV promotional ad for the show and came from Bekasi.
"I want to see Rudy in person... I always watch his show on TV."
She said the cooking tips she picked up from Rudy were a hit in her home.
"My family likes the food I make with his recipes... and I think that his food is simple, doesn't need lots of preparation time and the ingredients are easy to find," Tati said.