[Recipe] Kikiam cravings

I have been craving kikiam for a while now, and sadly I couldn't find it anywhere in my hometown of Iloilo City. I mean the meaty logs wrapped in bean curd skin, sold steamed and frozen, then fried until crispy just before serving, and paired with that sweet, tangy sauce. I know they are quite common in Binondo and in some markets in Metro Manila, where I spent most of my childhood. I do believe that Iloilo has a significant Filipino-Chinese community also, so I am curious why I do not see it in the supermarkets here (maybe in the big central and district markets, but I have yet to check those).

What I see in the groceries are those extruded fishcakes that are sold by fishball vendors that they also call kikiam.

I bought beancurd or tofu skin online and was able to do a passable kikiam from scratch. I took a lot of liberties, like substituting imitation crab for the fresh shrimp and omitting the singkamas in the recipe, but I'd definitely make this again with the full ingredient list on hand. Overall, I think I have done a good job, with the possible exception of my ill-advised decision to blend in 10 pcs of siling labuyo in my homemade sauce (I have plenty of them in the garden right now), making the sauce way too spicy for my liking.

The final logs were not as big, but that is limited by the size of the bean curd sheets that I have bought.

Ingredients

- Ground pork: half kilo

- Shrimp: 1/2 cup, peeled, deveined, and minced (I wasn't able to buy fresh shrimp, so I substituted it with imitation crab sticks, shredded)

- Singkamas (optional): 1/2 cup, grated and squeezed dry (I'd also try using water chestnuts for the crunchy texture)

- Carrot: 1/2 cup, grated

- Onion: 1 medium white onion, diced

- Shiitake mushrooms (optional): 2-3 pieces, rehydrated and chopped

- Spring onions: 1/4 cup, chopped

- Chinese cooking wine: 2 tablespoons

- Soy sauce: 2 tablespoons

- Oyster sauce: 2 tablespoons

- Brown Sugar: 1 tablespoon

- Sesame oil: 1 tablespoon

- Ground black pepper: 1/2 teaspoon

- Cornstarch: 4 tablespoons

- Chinese five-spice powder: 1 teaspoon

- Ginisa Mix: 1 packet (8 grams)

- Egg: 1 large

Note: If you have a food processor, then I suggest pulsing the cut-up carrots, onions, and spring onions in one go to save prep time.

Instructions

1. Mix the Filling

- Combine the ground pork, minced shrimp, singkamas, carrots, onion, mushrooms, and spring onions in a large mixing bowl.

- Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, Chinese cooking wine, brown sugar, sesame oil, five-spice powder, black pepper, egg, ginisa mix, and cornstarch.

- Mix everything thoroughly with your hands until well combined and sticky.

2. Wrap the Rolls

- Lay a damp bean curd sheet on a clean, dry surface.

- Place a portion of the meat mixture along one edge of the sheet, shaping it into a log.

- Roll the sheet tightly over the filling, tuck the sides inward, and continue rolling into a tight cylinder.

- Brush the edge with the cornstarch slurry mix (1:1 cornstarch to water ratio) to seal the seam. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

3. Steam the Kikiam

- Arrange the wrapped logs in a steamer basket. Make sure they do not touch to prevent sticking.

- Steam over medium heat for 20 minutes until the meat is fully cooked through.

- Remove from the steamer and let them cool completely.

- These can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months and can be thawed later for the next step. If you are going to stack them when storing, place a parchment paper in between the layers to avoid them from fusing into one frozen lump.