| Alternative names | Heh gerng (China);lor bak (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore);que-kiam,kikiam,kikyam,kekiam,ngohiong (Philippines) |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Southern Fujian |
| Region or state | Fujian,China;Hokkien-speaking areas;Indonesia,Malaysia,Philippines,Singapore,Thailand |
| Main ingredients | Various meats and vegetables,five-spice powder,tofu skin |
| Ngo hiang | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 五香 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 五香 | ||||||||||||||||||
| HokkienPOJ | ngó͘-hiang / ngó͘-hiong / gó͘-hiong | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | five spices | ||||||||||||||||||
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Ngo hiang (HokkienChinese:五香;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:ngó͘-hiang / ngó͘-hiong / gó͘-hiong), also known asheh gerng (Chinese:蝦管;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:hê-kǹg)lor bak (Chinese:五香滷肉;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:ngó͘-hiong-ló͘-bah) orkikiam (Tagalog pronunciation:[ˈkɪk.jam])[1] is a uniqueHokkien andTeochew dish widely adopted inIndonesia,Malaysia, thePhilippines,Singapore, andThailand, in addition to its place of origin in southernChina.
It is essentially a composition of various meats and vegetables and other ingredients, such as asausage-like roll consisting of minced pork and prawn (or fish) seasoned withfive-spice powder (Hokkien:Chinese:五香粉,ngó͘-hiong-hún) after which it is named, rolled inside atofu skin and deep-fried.[2] It is usually served withchili sauce and a house-special sweet sauce. Many stalls in Singaporeanfood courts andhawker centres sell friedbee hoon with ngo hiang; this combination is common for breakfast and lunch. In Indonesia, people enjoy ngo hiang withsambal.
The Philippine versions were originally introduced by Hokkien migrants and are generally known as kikiam. However, the variant calledngohiong fromCebu has diverged significantly from the original dish. Instead of using beancurd skin, it useslumpia wrappers. A street food dish also sometimes called "kikiam" (called "tempura" in Cebu) in the Philippines is neither of those dishes, but is instead an elongated version offishballs. The street food version of kikiam was made from pork, not fish.[3][4][5][6]
During the2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines, a report from theSouth China Morning Post on 26 November 2019 claimed thatMuslim athletes fromSingapore were servedkikiam and pork rolls, both containingground pork whichMuslims are prohibited from consuming. The report, however, was refuted by theSingapore National Olympic Council, stating that the Muslim athletes on the Singaporean team were not served pork to eat.[7]
On the same day, another incident occurred after the coach of thePhilippine women's football team complained that the athletes were only servedkikiam with rice and egg for breakfast at the hotel that they stayed in. The hotel clarified, however, that thekikiam was actually chicken sausage, and was part of a buffet service that included other food as well. It was also revealed that the coach was not actually at the hotel when the incident happened. Following this, the coach apologized to the hotel for the error.[8]