I’m not a Bicolana so I don’t make any claims of authenticity for this dish. However, we did have several Bicolanas as household helpers when I was growing up, and my favorite, Ate Irene, would cook this dish once in a while, so that’s how I learned.
Bicol Express
hot chilies flavored with pork, or pork flavored with hot chilies — you pick
Ingredients
- 1 lb hot peppers see note below
- 1 can full fat coconut milk divided use
- 1/2 head garlic, crushed and peeled
- 1 lb semi-fatty pork, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 tbsp shrimp paste see note
- 1 onion, chopped
Instructions
- Slice the peppers on the diagonal, discarding the seeds if desired to moderate heat.
- Put half of the coconut milk, garlic, and pork pieces into a saucepan.
- Bring to a boil, then bring down to a simmer, and cook, covered, until pork is tender, 20-30 minutes.
- Add shrimp paste and stir to combine.
- Add peppers and stir to combine.
- Add remaining coconut milk and continue to cook over medium heat until peppers are done.
Notes
- Note on the peppers: the peppers used for this dish are called siling haba or siling pansigang. If you cannot find the exact pepper where you are, suggested peppers include Hungarian Wax, Cayennes, Serranos, and Jalapenos. Ideally you’re shooting for peppers that register 30,000-50,000 units on the Scoville scale. You can also use a combination of sweet peppers and hot peppers to achieve the level of heat you desire. If I can’t find the right peppers I just use regular green peppers and throw in a few Thai peppers. In the picture I started out with Cubanelle (100-1000 Scoville units), Hungarian wax (1,000-15,000 Scoville units), and Hot Banana (0-500 Scoville units), because that’s what was available at the store, then kept adding Jalapenos until I got to the level of heat I wanted.
- Filipino shrimp paste is available in many cities. While using it would keep things authentic, I tend to go for the Korean version which does not contain food coloring. Once in a while I’m able to find Filipino alamang that doesn’t have food coloring but it’s rare. Absent shrimp paste or if you’re allergic to shrimp, use fish sauce or salt instead.
- When the fat from the pork renders, it will rise to the top. This may appear undesirable if you are not used to the cuisine, but Filipinos consider this a desirable characteristic of this dish.
- You can customize this dish by using more pepper than pork, or more pork than pepper, though traditionally it really is a PEPPER dish more than it is a pork dish.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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