Cue, The Semi-Dried Salted Fish

In a house crammed at the slum of Tanjung Priok sub-district, daily activities of 25 workers are performed since 10 am to 9 pm in making ikan pindang cue, a semi-dried salted fish. Pindang cue is made from laying fish and tongkol or tuna fish that were bought at Muara Baru fish auction, Jakarta.
Mr Rusdi is the owner of this business, which was established some 30 years ago. The workers comprise his family, friends and relatives that he brought from his hometown, Cirebon, West Java.
The process of making pindang cue is very simple. First, they clean and wash the fishes thoroughly, before being placed inside of besek, a small bamboo-woven square basket. Second, the salt is applied on the fishes, and leave them for a while to absorb it. Third, the fishes then are boiled on a big wok. This is what they call cue. The boiling process is utilizing wood for fire ever since the establishment was founded thirty years ago. After the boiling is over, they peel off the skin, and pindang cue is ready to be sold.
This home-industry can produce 2 ton of pindang cue in a day, or Rp 25 million worth. The price for 3 besek of pindang cue is Rp 10,000, while for a kilo of tuna pindang cue is Rp 30,000.