Bicol Express

Bicol express is a Filipino pork dish, where pork belly pieces are floating in a creamy sauce made with coconut cream, onion, garlic, ginger, shrimp paste, pepper, red chilies, green chilies and salt. with This Bicol express will make you drool a lot, the instant you see this on your table. The creamy bicol express is best paired with hot steaming rice during lunchtime.

CREAMY BICOL EXPRESS RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo pork belly
• 1 cup thick coconut milk
• 1 cup thin coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons shrimp paste
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 5 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 1 thumbsize ginger (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• salt to taste
• 2 pieces red chilies
• 6 pieces green chilies

Directions:

1. Wash and prepare the pork belly. Slice them into smaller pieces.
2. Place the sliced pork belly onto a heated pan and let them sear for a few minutes until light brown. Toss them continuously to prevent from burning.
3. Once browned and some oil starts to render, add the chopped ginger, onions and garlic and saute for a few minutes together with the pork.
4. Push the pork on the sides of the pan to create a hole at the center. Add the shrimp paste and saute it a little before sauteing together with the pork. Toss well so that all piece is coated with the shrimp paste.
5. After a few minutes, pour the thin coconut milk and stir a bit. Cover the pot and let this simmer using medium low heat until the pork is tender. You may add extra water if needed.
6. After around 25 minutes, the pork is now tender and more oil starts to render. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Add the chopped green chilies and then pour the thick coconut milk.  At this point, lower the heat to prevent the coconut milk from curdling. Let this cook for 8-10 more minutes until the sauce becomes thicker.
7. When the sauce is greatly reduced, add the chopped red chilies. The more red chilies, the spicier! After a few minutes, turn the heat off.
8. Transfer the creamy bicol express to a serving plate. Make sure to get yourself a big bowl of hot rice to enjoy this! Yum!

BICOL EXPRESS: THE EXPRESS WAY TO HEAVEN

Were you ever curious on how the Bicol express got its name? Watching the Polar Express as a child, I instantly know that trains would be involved in this dish’s history.

A woman named Cely Kalaw would be significant when talking about the bicol express history. She opened a restaurant in Malate, Manila wherein she serves different kinds of dishes which she patterned from all her visits in the different parts of the country. She was the one who made this dish and called it Bicol Express. But let us not take the credit from the real ones who made this dish, the Bicolanos. 

When it comes to Bicol dishes, one would expect a spicy coconut-based dish. During Cely Kalaw’s visit in the city of Naga, she experienced a dish with a lot of pork belly strips, smothered with rich creamy coconut sauce packed with a lot of chilies. This is where the bicol express was adopted from. Some historians note that the original bicol express actually has more chilies than pork! In Bicol, this dish is called “sinilihan” or “ginataang sili”.

When this dish was brought to Manila, Cely Kalaw adjusted the amount of chilies, making it tolerable for most non-Bicolano. This dish becomes really famous as you can always see them served in most karinderyas and even in premium restaurants.

On how the Bicol express got its name, there was once a train called Bicol Express which connects Paco Manila station to Bicol, using a long train ride. But unfortunately after a lot of typhoons, the bicol express train got a lot of damage and was unoperated during 2011. Cely Kalaw did a great job of giving honor to this train with the Bicol Express dish.

CREAMY BICOL EXPRESS

There is something with spicy dishes which makes you drool and want for more. I did not like spicy dishes when I was a child because I feel like my tongue is literally burning. I appreciated spicy dishes as a grew up and now have a high tolerance to spicy foods. Even when a dish is not traditionally spicy, adding some chilies made me extra excited to devour them!

When I knew about the traditional recipe of the bicol express, I got a little scared since there would be more chilies than the meat. With my Bicol trip a few years ago, it was really an honor to try the traditional recipe! But I would like to admit that Bicolanos really are on a different level.

When we eat spicy dishes, we always look for water to neutralize the heat. But did you know that according to science, milk or cream is the best thing to help you with the spiciness! Since I knew this, I always prepare a milkshake or a simple fresh milk beside me when eating high level spicy foods. But no worries when you eat this dish as you wont be needing any milkshake or milk for the creamy bicol express as the coconut sauce will help balance all the flavors out. Instant milk on the dish!

Since my nieces and nephews really love Bicol express, I always make sure to keep my bicol express extra creamier so they wont be traumatized when eating spicy dishes. If you wanna know how to make some creamy bicol express, read and follow the simple steps below. Happy cooking!

HOW TO MAKE CREAMY BICOL EXPRESS

Making some bicol express is super quick and easy, just like how its name suggests. The cooking time will depend on how “nagmamantika” you like this dish to be.

Start with preparing the pork belly slices. Since we want the natural oils from the pork to melt and render as we cook, we want the slices to be small, with every slice having both lean and fatty meat.

Sear the pork slices in a heated pan until browned. No need to add oil. Once the oil starts to render, use the oil to saute the aromatics. Add the shrimp paste and saute them all together. To cook the pork, add the thin coconut milk. You can use other liquid milk (or just plain water) for this step. Cooking the pork will take around half an hour so make sure to toss the pork from time to time to prevent burning.

No need to add oil since there would be a lot of oil rendered from the pork as they soften. Add the green chilies and saute them a little. You don’t need to worry about adding a lot of green chilies as they are a lot calmer than the red ones. These chilies can also add color to the dish, making it extra appetizing.

Add the thick coconut milk and the red chilies. You can also use ready to use gata from the grocery if you like. The gata would curdle when subjected to high heat so make sure to lower the heat setting. Some people likes their bicol express super creamy where you can really feel the gata, while some people really wanted this dish nagmamantika. Your cooking time would depend on how you like this dish!

When I am in the mood for creamy and saucy bicol express, I usually have it with bread as a palaman, or sometimes with pasta. But when I have my bicol express nagmamantika and a little crispy, I automatically have it with a lot of steamed rice. Yum!

Creamy Bicol Express Recipe in Tagalog

Mga Sangkap:

• 1 kilo liempo
• 1 tasa ng unang piga ng gata
• 1 tasa ng pangalawang piga ng gata
• 3 kutsara ng bagoong alamang
• 1 sibuyaa (hiniwa)
• 5 butil ng bawang (hiniwa)
• 1 luya (hiniwa)
• 1 kutsaritang paminta
• asin
• 2 siling labuyo
• 6 siling haba

Paano Lutuin:

1. Hugasan at ihanda ang liempo. Hiwain ang mga ito ng maliliit na piraso.
2. Ilagay ang baboy sa mainit na kawali at isangkutsa ito ng ilang minuto hanggang maging light brown. Haluin ito paminsan minsan para hindi masunog.
3. Kapag medyo nagmamantika na ang baboy, ilagay ang luya, sibuyas at bawang. Igisa ang mga ito ng ilang minuto.
4. Igilid ang baboy para makagawa ng space sa gitna ng kawali. Ilagay dito ang bagoong alamang at igisa muna ng konti bago igisa kasama ang baboy. Haluin ito ng mabuti para malagyan lahat.
5. Pagkatapos ng ilang minuto, ilagay ang pangalawang piga ng gata. Haluin ng konti at takpan ang kawali. Lutuin ito gamit ang katamtamang hina ng apoy hanggang lumambot ang baboy. Pwede mong dagdagan ng tubig kung kailangan.
6. Pagkatapos ng 25 minuto, malambot na ang baboy at nagmamantika na. Timplahan ito ng konting asin at paminta. Sunod na ilagay ang siling haba at ang unang piga ng gata. Pahinaan ang apoy para hindi magbuo-buo ang gata. Haluin ng konti at takpan ang kawali ng 8-10 pang minuto para lumapot ang sauce.
7. Kapag lumapot na ang sabaw, ilagay naman ang siling labuyo. Mas marami, mas maanghang! Lutuin pa ito ng ilang minuto hanggang magmantika ng todo bago patayin ang apoy.
8. Ilipat ang creamy bicol express sa serving plate. Maghanda ng malaking bowl ng mainit na kanin dahil siguradong mapapa-unli rice ka! Yum!