Pork in Spicy Coconut Milk (Bicol Express)
Bicol Express Say it: BEE-kol eks-PRESS
Bicol Express is one of the Philippines' most beloved fiery dishes: strips of pork belly simmered in coconut milk with fermented shrimp paste and a generous heap of small chiles. It comes from the Bicol region, where coconut and chilies shape the cooking, and it is eaten as an everyday viand spooned over mountains of steamed rice. The sauce is creamy, salty-savory and slow-burning hot, the pork soft and glossy, and the green chilies still a little crisp.
Pork in Spicy Coconut Milk (Bicol Express)
Bicol Express
Pronounced BEE-kol eks-PRESS
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Level
- Easy
Also nut-free and egg-free.
Allergens: contains shellfish. Check labels on packaged ingredients.
Ingredients
Amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pan sizes stay the same.
Method
Heat the oil in a wide pan or wok over medium heat. Sauté the garlic, onion and ginger until fragrant and the onion is soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add the pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pieces are lightly browned at the edges and some of the fat has rendered, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the bagoong alamang and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until it darkens slightly and smells nutty.
Pour in the coconut milk and water, bring to a gentle boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pork is tender when pierced with a fork.
Add the bird's eye chiles and long green chiles and simmer for 5 minutes, until they soften but still keep a little bite.
Stir in the coconut cream and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes more, without stirring too often, until the sauce thickens and small beads of oil appear on the surface.
Season with black pepper, taste, and add salt only if the shrimp paste has not made it salty enough. Serve hot.
Regional variant: Vegetable Bicol Express (Bicol Express na Gulay)
Replace the pork with 8 oz (225 g) firm tofu, cut into cubes and browned in the oil first, plus 2 cups (200 g) sliced string beans and 1 cup (150 g) cubed squash. Set the tofu aside, cook the aromatics and shrimp paste, then add the coconut milk and vegetables and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, until the squash is tender but the beans are still crisp. Return the tofu, add the chiles and coconut cream, and finish as above.
Cook's notes
- Once the coconut cream goes in, let the sauce bubble gently undisturbed so it reduces and releases its oil instead of turning grainy.
- Leave half the bird's eye chiles whole and only slit them if you want a milder dish; slicing them all releases maximum heat.
- Bagoong alamang is very salty, so taste the sauce at the end before reaching for the salt shaker.
Serve with
Steamed white rice, with fish sauce and calamansi on the side.
Make ahead and storage
Keeps 3 days refrigerated; reheat gently over low heat with a splash of water, as the coconut milk thickens when cold.
