Yummy gulai kikil, commonly found in Padang restaurants.
It’s probably best if you stay away from the kikil (the yummy, fatty cow leg skin) unless you know exactly where it’s coming from and how it’s processed. The reason is police recently uncovered vendors illegally and dangerously preserving kikil with formaldehyde in West Jakarta.
The police raided six houses that produced kikil in Kalideres, West Jakarta yesterday. They are all suspected of selling kikil preserved in formaldehyde.
Sri, a 33-year-old woman who owns one of the six houses, admitted that she used formaldehyde to extend the kikil’s shelf life. Without formaldehyde, kikil usually goes bad in one day.
“We use formaldehyde so we can sell a lot,” Sri said, as quoted by Tempo today.
Sri said she supplied 100 kg of kikil every day to shops and restaurants in West Jakarta. She sold the kikil at Rp 17,000 per kg.
In case you don’t already know, formaldehyde is a toxic compound commonly used in embalming dead people. Yuck.
