Filipino Kikiam Street Food Recipe: Great Snack to Make

Growing up in the Philippines, one will never forget about street foods. There are many kinds of street foods in the country like

• Banana Cue,
• Turon,
• different kinds of Barbecue,
• Fried Siomai,
• Fried Chicken Skin,

and of course, the trio that is Kikiam, Fish balls, and Squid Balls.

Most street food vendors who sell fish balls and squid balls are also selling it. This is the common and more available version. But there’s also another type of kikiam.

This one is the homemade version and a more elaborate kind of dish. If you’re not too keen on buying the street food kikiam, why not try this Homemade Kikiam Recipe?

By doing so, you can be sure it is the clean version of this Filipino Food.

The History of this version of Kikiam Recipe

Kikiam comes from the word ‘que-Kiam’ which is a Chinese word for minced meat and vegetables. Some Kikiam versions even use meat or fish meat.

The homemade Kikiam Recipe version is the one where meat and vegetable are used.

One version of Kikiam which can be found in Dumaguete is called “Tempura” because it is flattened and they say it resembles the Japanese dish of the same name.

Since the Philippines is home to many dishes that were influenced by the Chinese people, this dish became one of them. This dish is also loved by many.

Though, it is not as popular as other dishes inspired by the Chinese. Another name for Kikiam is Ngohiong.

History has it that Hokkien migrants were the ones who introduced the dish to the Philippine ancestors.

To add, the usual beancurd skin that is used to wrap it in the original dish has now become lumpia wrappers. Lumpia wrappers are in abundance in the country so making kikiam is easy.

The dish is also accompanied by a sweet chili sauce.

Homemade Kikiam Recipe Preparation and Cooking

Not too many cooks prefer to make it but are willing to try and you’ll discover that this dish is as tasty as other Chinese-influenced dishes. It’s not hard to prepare it.

You just need ground pork to start with as well as some other ingredients like red onions, minced garlic and carrots, cornstarch, sugar, five-spice powder, and lumpia wrapper or if you can find bean curd sheets.

The cooking procedure is much like cooking Lumpia. You wrap it. But, unlike in Lumpia where you need to fry it, Kikiam needs to be steamed first then after that you can fry it.

Even with the similarity, the two tastes different especially that Lumpia, also, has a different version.

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Filipino Kikiam Street Food recipe

The homemade Kikiam Recipe version is the one where meat and vegetable are used. One version of Kikiam which can be found in Dumaguete is called “Tempura“ because it is flattened and they say it resembles the Japanese dish of the same name Course SnackCuisine FilipinoKeyword Pork, Street Food Prep Time 20 minutesCook Time 20 minutesTotal Time 40 minutes Servings 8 pcs Calories 409kcal Author Joost Nusselder Cost $4

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground pork
• 1 lb shrimp peeled and chopped
• 8 cloves garlic minced
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 1 small carrot grated
• 1 tbsp five spice powder
• 1 tbsp sugar or more
• salt and ground pepper to taste
• bean curd sheet for wrapping
• cooking oil for frying

Instructions

• Mix ground pork, shrimp, garlic, onion, carrots, five spice, sugar, salt and ground pepper.
• Lay down a piece of bean curd sheet and add 3 tablespoon meat mixture. Wrap it like you are wrapping a lumpia. Set aside and repeat with the remaining mixture.
• Arrange wrapped meat (kikiam) in a steamer and steam for 15-20 minutes. Once done remove kikiam from the steamer. Set aside and allow to cool.
• Place enough cooking oil in a deep pot for deep frying. Heat oil then fry kikiam in medium heat until skin is crispy.
• Remove from heat and slice before serving with a sweet and sour creamy sauce for dipping. See sauce recipe below.

Notes

You can store your Homemade Version of Kikiam into Freezer for future Frying.  

Nutrition

Calories: 409kcal

KIKIAM SAUCE:

Ingredients 

• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup of water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, minced
• 3 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon vinegar
• 2-3 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoon cooking oil

Instructions

1. Dilute cornstarch in water.
2. Saute garlic and onion in cooking oil until it turns caramelized.
3. Pour diluted cornstarch, soy sauce, and vinegar. Stir well and simmer in low heat for few minutes. Remove sauce from heat and set aside till ready to use.

On the other hand, you can freeze it after you steam it if you wish to store it in the freezer. It can last for days in the freezer.

This is a great snack that you can try but it can also be eaten as a viand.

And, like other Filipino lunch or dinner setting, you can prepare something else to accompany it like pancit; which is also influenced by the Chinese people.

This Kikiam Recipe is another Filipino-Chinese dish you should try when you have time.