Ingredients
The pot
- 700 gpork belly, in 2 cm cubes
- 400 mlcoconut milk (first press, thick)
- 400 mlcoconut milk, thinner
- 2 tbspshrimp paste (bagoong alamang)
- 1large onion, chopped
- 8 clovesgarlic, minced
- 1thumb ginger, julienned
- 1 tbspoil
Chillies
- 10–15long green finger chillies (siling haba), sliced diagonally
- 4bird’s eye chillies (siling labuyo), minced, or to taste
To serve
- steamed rice
Directions
- Render the pork belly in the oil over medium heat for 10 minutes until the fat runs and the edges brown. Pour off most of the rendered fat.
- Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook 4 minutes until fragrant.
- Stir in the bagoong and fry it for 2 minutes. Frying the shrimp paste before liquid goes in is what turns it from harsh to deeply savoury, and it is the step most often skipped.
- Pour in the thinner coconut milk, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered 25 minutes, until the pork is tender and the liquid has reduced by half.
- Add the thick coconut milk and the sliced green chillies and simmer another 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.
- Do not cover the pot at any point. Coconut milk under a lid catches condensation and splits into curds and oil.
- Add the bird’s eye chillies in the last 3 minutes, to taste. Bicol Express is meant to be genuinely hot — it is named for a train and the heat is the joke.
- The sauce is ready when it has thickened and the coconut oil has just begun to separate at the edges. Taste before salting; the bagoong is already salty.
- Serve with plenty of steamed rice.
Technique
- Uncovered throughout. This is the rule for every coconut-milk braise.
- Green finger chillies for body, bird’s eye for heat. Using only bird’s eye gives fire with no flavour.
- Bagoong varies a great deal in saltiness. Taste the pot before adding any salt at all.
Substitutions
- Fish sauce in place of bagoong, though the dish loses its characteristic funk.
- Prawns instead of pork, added in the last 5 minutes only.
Variations
- Gulay na santol, made with sour santol fruit instead of pork.
- A version with sitaw (yardlong beans) added for bulk.
History
A spicy stew of pork, coconut milk and generous amounts of chili, named after the Bicol Express, an actual passenger train line connecting Manila to the Bicol region, a naming choice reflecting the dish’s fiery, fast-hitting spiciness rather than any direct culinary connection to train food or travel. The Bicol region itself is well known within the Philippines for a particularly high tolerance for and heavy use of chili compared to many other Filipino regions, and the dish is generally understood to have been created and popularized in Manila, playfully evoking Bicolano cuisine’s reputation for heat, rather than having originated within Bicol itself as an old traditional regional recipe. It remains one of the most widely recognized specifically spicy dishes within mainstream Filipino cooking.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bicol Express?
Bicol Express is a main from Philippines: pork in coconut cream loaded with green chilies. A spicy stew of pork, coconut milk and generous amounts of chili, named after the Bicol Express, an actual passenger train line connecting Manila to the Bicol region, a naming choice reflecting the dish’s fiery, fast-hitting spiciness rather than any direct culinary connection to train food or travel. The Bicol region itself is well known within the Philippines for a particularly high tolerance for and heavy use of chili compared to many other Filipino regions, and the dish is generally understood to have been created and popularized in Manila, playfully evoking Bicolano cuisine’s reputation for heat, rather than having originated within Bicol itself as an old traditional regional recipe. It remains one of the most widely recognized specifically spicy dishes within mainstream Filipino cooking.
How long does Bicol Express take to make?
Bicol Express takes 20 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Bicol Express?
Yes, within limits. Fish sauce in place of bagoong, though the dish loses its characteristic funk. Prawns instead of pork, added in the last 5 minutes only.
What is the most important thing to get right in Bicol Express?
Do not cover the pot at any point. Coconut milk under a lid catches condensation and splits into curds and oil.
