balachong

B3A1L1A1C3H4O1N1G2

noun

A Malaysian and Singaporean form of ngapi, a Southeast Asian condiment made from fermented and compressed fish or shrimp.

Scrabble 17

Meanings

nounbalachong (uncountable)

alternative balachaung · alternative blachang · alternative blachong

  1. uncountablecookingA Malaysian and Singaporean form of ngapi, a Southeast Asian condiment made from fermented and compressed fish or shrimp.
    1 more example

    Travellers on the steamers of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company are wont to rail in no measured terms at the fish-paste which forms an invariable and obtrusively evident part of the cargo, yet no Burman would think a dinner complete without his modicum of nga-pee, and it is a noteworthy fact that one form of the condiment is of frequent appearance on English dinner-tables in the East, under the name of balachong, a term borrowed from the Straits Settlements, but which designates nothing more nor less than a specially prepared variety of nga-pee.

    1882, James George Scott, The Burman: His Life and Notions, Ch. xxviii: "Nga-pee"

Origin

  1. Malaybelacan
  2. Englishbalachong

From Malay belacan.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

balachong. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balachong

MLA

“balachong.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balachong. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “balachong,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balachong.

Source: balachong on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.