Chinese Style Que Kiam ( Kikiam)

        Hi Guys! Sorry I was a bit under the weather, after packing all those 280 kilograms of mangoes in. By early tomorrow morning, we shall be opening 5 baskets of those heavenly Philippine mangoes I can only dream of sharing with you. Already, 3 baskets have been promised to a vendor, we shall be selling the other batches right out the front yard. I wish I could take a video of the queue that we will be expecting. As I mentioned before, the neighbors have known these mangoes since we started harvesting and they look forward to those few days of the year the house becomes a mango stall, right here in the neighborhood.

          I packed the remaining three baskets this morning, even with the sniffles. But they're done and I have gone to a nap to rest. Now, it's time to tend to my readers.

        Today, we will be making one popular street food in the Philippines, Que Kiam or Kikiam. Originally a Chinese recipe, I first tasted this authentic Chinese version when I was in high school and visiting with relatives in Manila. My uncle is pure Chinese, and married to my mom's eldest sister. From what I could recall, he makes Que Kiam, Siomai ,Fishballs and Tofu fresh weekly. He doesn't talk much, but his cooking was awesome!

    Fast forward to this day, practically every street has a row of vendors frying Kikiam, Fishballs, SquidBalls and Tempura, served on rectangular paper plates and swimming in sweet-sour sauce. Even supermarkets carry frozen versions of these, so folks could fry them at home. There are also plenty of commercial versions available on the internet, but the ones seen on the streets have little, if any real fish or squid. To say that these street food have been scaled down is an understatement, but it's the Kikiam that underwent a major overhaul, that the Kikiam known to most, has little if any resemblance to the real appearance or taste of authentic Kikiam.

on the left is the fishball,  kikiam on the foreground, street version

        So get ready for the real thing, because this is one taste adventure, you will want to take again and again. This recipe makes about 5-6 rolls so you can simply freeze the rest for later use. Do not be intimidated with the numerous ingredients, you probably only have to go to the Asian store for the Bean curd wrappers, the rest might already be in your kitchen. A person can consume 1 roll.

Let's Cook:

Chinese Style QueKiam

INGREDIENTS for THE QUE KIAM ROLLS

1 kilogram lean pork, ground
100 g. shrimp meat
1 T. refined salt
4 T. white sugar
2 T. garlic, finely chopped
1/2 c. turnips (singkamas) chopped finely
1/2 c. onions, chopped
1 t. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. five-spice powder
1-2 eggs, beaten 
1 broth cube
1 package Taupe or bean curd wrapper

FOR THE SAUCE:

1 c. water
6 T. sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 pc. siling labuyo or bird's eye chili,( optional )
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 pc laurel leaf
1/2 tsp. pepper

PROCEDURE:

1. For the QueKiam Rolls, simply mix all ingredients for the rolls except the bean curd wrapper. Before using the wrapper, brush the entire surface with cornstarch dissolved in water. Divide the mixture into 6 mounds or wrap every 250 g. or 1 cup of mixture into a wrapper. Seal ends with the cornstarch-water mixture. Place on a tray seam side down.

heating the oil

2. Freeze the remaining rolls in freezer bags and heat at least an inch of oil on medium heat. Fry the rolls until brown on all sides. These may also be steamed for 25 minutes for a healthier version. Let cool a little before slicing diagonally.

cut them in two so they fit the pan

3. For the sauce, simply throw everything into a pot in medium heat until the sauce comes together think and translucent.

simply browning, these aren't burnt

4. Arrange the sliced rolls on a plate and serve with the sauce or ready made sweet chili sauce. These rolls hold their own as a stand alone dish, as viand, snack, or beer accompaniment.

Que Kiam ready to eat!

NOTE:

The wrappers have a queer soybean smell but it doesn't affect the taste. The wrapper gets crisp with the frying but don't stay that way long enough but the taste remains great. Enjoy!