Brekecek, A Signature Dish From Cilacap

Yogyakarta has gudeg as their signature dish, meanwhile in Palembang has Pempek, then, what is the signature dish from Cilacap? It is the delicious one, Brekecek Pathak Jahan. Located on the south coast, Cilacap has some dishes from seafood. One of them is brekecek pathak jahan.

Although it is already famous among the Cilacap people, the brekecek pathak jahan officially became Cilacap's signature dish on November 6, 2014, based on the regent's letter number 556/501/18/2014. Besides brekecek jahan, there was brekecek basur that is written on that letter too as the other signature dish from Cilacap.

What is brekecek pathak jahan? Why it should be inaugurated?

Brekecek is a combination of word brek and kecek. Brek means fall or put down, while kecek means mixed. So, the name brekecek comes from the way they make the food by putting all the ingredients and mixing them with special seasoning.

Pathak is the head, and jahan is a kind of fish. So, pathak jahan is the head of jahan fish. The body of the jahan fish is processed into salted fish as we call it jambal roti. Jambal roti is a thick salted fish. This salted fish becomes wider because it is split in a half.

Since the body of jahan fish is used for salted fish, then the head will be thrown away. But, there is meat as well in the jahan fish's head. So, people use it for cooking brekecek.

This brekecek pathak jahan is cooked with a common seasoning such as red chilly, turmeric, garlic, shallots, ginger, galangal, bay leaves, brown sugar, lemongrass, and candlenut. To make it spicier, we can add more chilies. The seasoning is cooked together with pathak jahan. Don't forget to add basil and lemon water to reduce the fishy smell.

A pathak jahan will be complete if you serve it with warm rice and stir beansprouts. The sensation of slurping the meat between the bones of the head of this jahan fish, spicy and salty, combined with the warm rice will be a perfect taste.

At this time, we can find brekecek pathak jahan in the restaurant near the beach of Cilacap. In case you don't like fish, you can try brekecek basur which is tasty as well. Last, don't forget to buy other souvenirs from Cilacap.