Bicol express: one spicy Philippine dish named after a train service
February 5, 2012 90 Comments
A cold snap is currently chilling Europe these days and the mercury has dropped and stayed at sub-zero levels in the last couple of days. At times like these, there is nothing that I like more than to eat something hot and spicy, something familiar. What came to mind was a very special dish from the Philippines (my home country) and specifically from the region where I come from, Bicol. This dish is called “Bicol Express”, coined from the train service that runs from Manila to the Bicol region. What makes this dish special even in the Philippines is its spiciness and use of coconut milk because in general, Philippine dishes are not spicy but lean more to the Spanish influence due to the ties with Spain which colonized the country for over 300 years.
The Bicol Express
When I first came to Holland, I didn’t know that making this dish will be a big thing to my in-laws, friends and colleagues. I made it for myself then for comfort especially when I start to pine for things back home. After introducing it to the people here, it became the most anticipated dish whenever we had gatherings.
The dish is simple and had very few ingredients which in many ways, make its taste pure compared to spicy curries for instance.
For this dish, I used the following ingredients:
700 grams pork belly cut in cubes
2 tin cans of coconut milk (I would have used coconut cream but didn’t have that on hand)
6 cloves garlic
1 onion, sliced
6 pieces long chillies, sliced
freshly ground pepper
Salted tiny shrimps (This provides the special flavor and if not available, can be substituted by shrimp paste but salt should be added.)
The chillies used for the Bicol Express
The ingredients: pork, chillies, garlic, onion, coconut milk, salted tiny shrimp
Cooking instructions:
Sautee the garlic and onion
Add the pork meat
Add the coconut milk
Let the stew simmer for a while
Add the salted tiny shrimps, check the taste as this is the seasoning used. No need to add salt.
When the dish is almost done, add the chillies
Let it cook for a short while
The Bicol Express
Serve with steamed/boiled white rice and some vegetable (boiled broad beans in this case)
About Malou
MMMmmm. Now THAT looks good.
One day I’m going to have to post for you my étouffée recipe. That’ll certainly keep you warm on a cold winter’s night.
Now, I can’t wait to see your post on this special recipe you mentioned. We need spicy dishes here to drive away all the possible flu viruses
Great pictures! We love all the products you used, but haven’t heard of the name brands you pictured. Coconut milk and chili peppers are two of our favorite ingredients for any dish. These are universal so the brand name doesn’t really matter.
Coconut milk is indeed universal so any brand will do. I prefer to actually use the coconut cream so that this dish will really become oily just like the way it is supposed to be.
Yum! This does sound really good! I love pork, any way it is cooked!
This is good and the chillies give that kick that’s perfect in chilly weather.
Sounds delicious! Like you it’s very icy here. And, needing food spiced up a little. Would be able to buy the coconut cream but neither the tiny shrimp nor shrimp paste. Will have to think of an alternative for during the week. Keep warm!
You must check the Chinese or Asian shop if you have them in your area. They will surely have a version of the shrimp paste or dried frozen tiny shrimps.
This looks amazing! And the perfect thing for a chilly night. I want some right now!
I have never used salty tiny shrimps in a jar. What are they like? Are they the same as the small dried shrimp that we use in Chinese cooking?
There is a Filipino market that just opened up the street. I should go get some! What else can you use them for?
The salted tiny shrimps are very salty so for this dish, I do not use any salt anymore. You can use that small dried shrimp as well but you will need to add salt.
As you mentioned, there’s a Filipino market near your place so you can check if they have this salted tiny shrimp. Don’t get the other version (shrimp guisado) because that’s already cooked.
This dish is pretty versatile so you can add vegetables like string beans or pumpkins, green papaya which all cook and taste well with coconut milk, pork and salted tiny shrimps.
Hi! I’m loving your post:) I will have to try this dish soon!
Thanks a lot, Calamari Queen. Saw that you are a fellow Pinay. We should be promoting our traditional dishes here too
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My stomach is rumbling! Looks great. I didn’t know about salted tiny shrimps. How fun.
These salted tiny shrimps are pretty much a “poor man’s food” when I was growing up in the Philippines but makes excellent accompaniment to many local dishes that we have back home.
Sounds yummy. I hope I will get to try it when I am back there.
This looks and sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing Malou!
That looks really good, i like a mix of green and red chili and I like mine really spicy
Yes, those green and red colors makes up for a very nice visual presentation. I love it real spicy too but have to take into account my in-laws
Very Jealous, I love chillies but struggling to stomach anything more than a salad art the moment in the tropical Queensland heat. I have heard they actually cool you down because they make you sweat more. Just not sure how much more I can sweat in 95% humidity.
We’re having extreme temperature contrasts at the moment. It is really super cold here with night temps hitting almost -20 degrees Celsius. I can’t settle for salad and light meals, need the extra fat to keep me warm
Looks delicious! I’ll have to give that a try sometime soon
It is and perfect on chilly days like what we are having now
haha!great post! well done!
Thanks a lot, Tara.
Looks delicious even if I cant eat any of it.
Thanks a lot. Too bad that you cannot eat it. Vegetarian?
Hey looks great Malou! The use of coconut milk, chillies and onion reminds me of Kerala cuisine
Can I used dried salted shrimps?
Thanks a lot. Yes, you can use your dried salted shrimps too.
That looks so yummy, and the chillies make it so pretty.
It is and i do love the chillies and that wonderful smell of spiciness
I’ve read about your deep freeze, I’m so sorry for you and hope it ends soon. We’ve had such a mild winter.. we are the ones who should be having your cold temperatures and weather. Well, this dish would, indeed, warm you up from the inside out:) Stay warm!! xo Smidge
Actually many are hoping here that the deep freeze continues so that the ice can grow for the much awaited “Elfstedentoch”, the almost 200 km. outdoor skating race up north in the province of Friesland.
It looks yummy!! I will enjoy Philippine`s food next month.
Cool! You should try this, the lechon, sisig amongst others
looks like the perfect comfort food for a cold day! here in Alaska we just emerged from a very frigid January, and I’m thrilled to be seeing temperatures back above zero; hope it warms up for you soon!
We’re still hoping for a bit more of freezing days in order to witness the much awaited “Elfstedentoch” or the Eleven Cities Race (an outdoor/nature skating race) covering almost 200 kms. up north in the province of Friesland.
Anything that’s spicy and has coconut milk in it gets my attention. This dish looks terrific!
Same with me, I love dishes with coconut milk and chillies.
I’ll have to try this dish soon. It’s one of the dishes I remember from parties growing up but never did learn its name. My family loves that I’m cooking more in the kitchen and your blog is helping me gain more confidence with the Filipino dishes beyond adobo and sinigang!
Now that you’ve mentioned adobo and sinigang, I should cook them one of these days. You made me miss them all too suddenly. I’m sure that you can make the Bicol Express very well. It is a very simple dish actually.
Comfort food!!!
Thanks for sharing!
Indeed it is!
Very nice. Looks great! Thanks for checking out my blog.
Thanks a lot. I love your blog too!
Wonderful recipe and very good photos. Excellent step by step guide!
Glad to know that you like this post!
This dish really looks amazing and so darn delicious. I just LOVE the pork in this dish.. well I just about love pork in any dish lol. And the flavors that go along with the pork just sound absolutely wonderful
Thanks a lot, Kay! This is a dish that’s so typical in the region where I come from in the Philippines. Pretty spicy but just wonderful especially on chilly weather that we have currently.
I have to make this! Have to. Thanks for sharing. Peace!
Good to know that you find this dish interesting.
Looks delicious and I can udnerstand why your family go mad for it! We love our pork belly here in Spain…
Pork belly is always nice to use because there is a good balance between the fat and lean part of the meat.
Will you cook for me and my friends if we come to Amsterdam? I have a very close friend in Rotterdam
Sure, just let me know when you are coming over and I’ll introduce you and your friends to Philippine dishes
BTW I thought that Bicol Express referred to the way the food would be digested. LOL Still I wanna try it!
Ha, ha, ha! That’s a pretty original idea, Sarahlynn!
Malou, I grew up eating Phillippine dishes but this is a new on to me – I will have to try it.
Also, thank you for subscribing to my blog – I hope to keep it interesting and fun!
It’s nice to know that you are familiar with Philippine dishes, Lynn. Maybe you know only the dishes which have Spanish influence because they are more main stream. This dish is very local and has recently been gaining ground in overall Philippine cuisine.
mmmm, that looks so yummy….i’ll have to try it since our temps just dipped
Thanks a lot, Monika.
This looks really tasty and great photos of it! I will have to try this soon. And it looks like it should be easy to adopt to vegetarian by substituting in tofu for the pork. My partner is filipino, so I’m constantly asking him about filipino cooking, but his mom always did all the cooking and he didn’t learn much of it. And when we do have filipino food, it normally has meat, so I can’t have it. But if I can make it at home, I can make vegetarian versions.
I’ve never tried this dish vegetarian style but I guess using tofu will do. In the older days, this dish was just cooked with less or no meat, lots of chillies and lots of the salted tiny shrimps (which is normally un-salted).
Let me know how your vegetarian version tastes.
Oh, I have got to try some of this! Do you sautee the pork and drain off the fat before adding it to the coconut milk? And what causes it to thicken?
Just simmer it down until it thickens naturally.
Oh and you don’t drain off the fat – pork fat and fully saturated fats in coconut cream – hence my sinful tag
I too am a bicol Express convert (my wife is from Guinobatan in Bicol). The only difference i would add is that when iw as taught how to make this ‘heavenly sinful’ dish is rather than cube the pork belly, slice it trhinly and do not pre sautee the pork, rather throw the coconut milk in straight away – this allows the pork to absorb a lot more of the flavours.
The Filipinos taught me Bicol Express – I taught them about Bigos – all in all a fair trade I think
Thanks for all your inputs on this dish. There are many ways in the preparation and even variation in ingredients that I have come across regarding this dish. For instance, others grill the pork meat first so that the dish will have that smoky taste. I normally would use coconut cream because this dish is suppose to be oily rather than creamy in the end. Others also add ginger and lemon grass as well to this dish.
I’d love to hear more about your Bigos.
Bigos is Polish Hunter’s Stew (My heritage now)
1 head of cabbage sliced for slaw
1 pack/large jar Sauerkraut (drainand and squeezed – keep the juice)
Meat – mainly pork based
I use pork belly sliced into thin bits
also some bacon also sliced
Polish Sausage cubed into fingernail size dimension
1 Large or 2 medium brown onoin diced
Frankfurters cut into chunks equal to their diameter
Sautee onion to clear/transparent
– add pork and brown
- add bacon and Polish sausage and sautee a little more
Add shredded cabbage bit by bit allowing it to wilt a little and create space in your pot.
When you’ve added all the cabbage – begin to add the sauerkraut mixing it through the body of the mixture evenly.
Season genra]ously with salt and pepper.
Now the tricky bit – add enough of the retained liquid from the sauerkraut to give it a nice piquant flavour. I say this is tricky because the flavour builds gradually after simmering. The good news is – if you haven’t added enough you can always add some more next day or at the time of eating.
Bigos is always better at least one day aftyer cooking. (reheated of course). The quantities make a LARGE amount – but it freezes well.
Serve with Rye bread (I prefer the dark rye) generously buttered.
You’re right about the variations – I think the KEY ingredient that makes this dish so special (for me) is the Balau or Bagoong which simply adds a complexity to the pork/chillie and cream that is to die for
Thanks a lot for providing your Bigos recipe which I will definitely try. Can I use the normal bratwurst in place of the Polish sausage?
Looks great, even at 7 a.m. in the morning
Thanks a lot, Pieter!
I have also made a SQUID Variant of Bicol Express – also yummy
Use squid tubes cut into small squares instead of the Pork
Wow, this is another very original idea, El Guapo.
Re: Polish Suasage in Bigos
Like with anything – you can vary ingredients, but the cost is varying the end result. Polish suasage tends to have more emphasis on garlic whereas bratwurst is more spicy/peppery. Also bratwurst (here anyway) usually is not smoked like Polish Sausage.
My (personal) rule for cooking is to follow the recipe as closely as possible THE FIRST TIME to see what the originator was trying to achieve – after that I’ts oppen slather.
Another point to make is that Bigos is a very old and traditional recipe and so over the years MANY VARIATIONS have developed. You will notice that I do not give many details on quantities – that’s because i cook from the heart – not the head. I left one ingredient out tof my original recipe – because it is very specific and I doubt you nget the exact same thing over there – DON Viennese Franfurters – try a local smokey Frank and hope for the best
Other additonal ‘do prawki’ as we would say in Polish that you can play with are Carroway seeds, bay Leaves, Paprika and the list goes on . . . . . .
You may like to Google Bigos and I’m sure you’ll findf many recipe variations – perhaps look to tsee what receipes have been written by locals to see what regional ingredients they use.
Thanks a lot for this recipe of bigos, El Guapo. I have some Polish colleague so I will ask them where they get the ingredients if they make this dish here.
Whoa!!! Love that there’s a dish named after a Train service, it was obviously a very memorable dish!!! Confession, I am a chilli fiend and that dish looks like the kind of challenge my taste buds would love to try lol
You should even try the version from my region here where chili is treated as the vegetable
That one will be up to your liking, I suppose.
I’m hungry now! I love Bicol Express. They have a good (and very hot) one here in Puerto Princesa at one of our favorite restaurants, Kinabuchs.
That dish is really tasty, and seeing this post just made me hungry! The Bicol region is special I have to say – one of my favorite regions in the Philippines
Great post!
Bikol Express is one of our favourite dishes. Our friend also does it with sea-food and adds on various other vegetables like pumpkin and eggplant! It’s amazing…
Garu masiramun daw yan tabi na pigluto nindo! May bagoong diyan sa Holland?
Arin tabi an mas maharang, yan na piggamit mo na sili o so pasitis sato?
Dios Mabalos!
I am going to make this! Thank you!
I was surprised to find our very own Bicol Express in Dutch soil and…taste bud! Glad to know that we both came from the same region. I’ll study culinary arts one day and present more of our dishes to the world…with a style!
Pareho palan kitang Bicolano. Bicol express and laing are very popular with my Dutch audience here.
WOW! I wonder how you get to bring gabi leaves there. Pirang beses mi na sinubukan na magpadara sa Amerika ning laing pero dae nakakalusot. Lol! It really makes me happy that you get to share our culture with the Dutch. All the best always!
Just been looking through all your recipes and this is one I really want to try as I love coconut milk and spicy flavours. Thanks for visiting my blog too.
Pork belly should be included in more dishes! Yum!
Masiram