How To Cook Hot Bicol Express Recipe

How To Cook Hot Bicol Express Recipe

Hot Bicol Express Recipe - The outcome of this Bicol Express Recipe can be described as pork cooked in coconut milk with shrimp paste and chilies. No wonder the name of this dish was derived from a Philippine region (Bicol) wherein Coconuts are abundant and the use of chilies is emphasized in most local meals.

There are stories saying that Bicol express was conceptualized and first cooked by Ms. Cely Kalaw in her Manila restaurant sometime during the late 60’s to the early 70’s. Based on an article written by Angela De Leon entitled Soul Train: The Unlikely Beginnings Of A Beloved Filipino Dish (published in Chile Pepper Magazine last October 2006), Ms. Kalaw toned down the heat on her Taro dish (this could be “Laing”) after receiving complains from some customers. However, she knew that other customers wanted the Taro dish to be hot and spicy so she invented another amazingly spicy hot dish that would best compliment the Taro. Thus, Bicol Express was born.

Hot Bicol Express Recipe INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 kilo pork, sliced thinly
• 1/2 kilo baguio beans, sliced
• 1/2 cup Jalapeno chilis
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 2 cups coconut cream
• salt and pepper to taste.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a pan, heat a little oil and start browning the pork. Once done, set aside.
2. Saute garlic and onion in a little oil, then add the cooked pork.
3. Add the coconut milk and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Once the pork and the baguio beans absorbed the coconut milk, pour in the coconut cream and bring it to boil. Add in the chili and let the sauce thickens.
5. Season with salt and pepper.

Additional Information About Bicol Express

Bicol Express  is a popular Filipino dish which was popularized in the district of Malate, Manila but made in traditional Bicolano style. It is a stew made from long chilies siling mahaba in Tagalog, lada panjang in Malay/Indonesian, coconut milk, shrimp paste or stockfish, onion, pork, and garlic. It is said to have been inspired by the fiery Bicolano dish gulay na may lada, which is nowadays presented as one of the many variants of Bicol Express.

Bicol Express was named after the passenger train service from Manila to the Bicol region, a region in the Philippines famous for its spicy cuisine. Source: Bicol Express

Source Recipe: Bicol Express

Learn How To Cook How To Cook Hot Bicol Express Recipe