Bicol Express

   Bicol Express is a spicy pork dish cooked in coconut milk, which gives it a rich and creamy sauce. One key ingredient is alamang, a salty fermented shrimp paste that adds a strong umami flavor and gives the dish a hint of pink color.

    This dish comes from the Bicol region of the Philippines. In the 1960s, people in Bicol started making and selling it, even before it had an official name. Bicolanos would wait at the Sipocot station in Camarines Sur for a train to make a short stop, and they would sell the dish to the passengers boarding.

Ingredients:

1. 2 lbs. pork belly sliced into strips

2. 2 cups coconut milk

3. 2 cups coconut cream

4. 1/4 cup shrimp paste or salted Krill

5. 5 cloves garlic crushed

6. 5 pieces Thai chili pepper chopped

7. 2 thumbs ginger minced

8. 1 piece onion chopped

9. 2 pieces Serrano pepper sliced

10. 1 cup water optional

11. 8 grams Maggi Magic Sarap

Procedure:

1. Start by taking out your pan. Proceed by combining minced ginger, crushed garlic, chopped onion, sliced pork, chopped chili pepper, and coconut milk. Mix everything together before turning-on the heat.

2. Turn on the heat and let it boil. Once the mixture boils, simmer it for around 50 minutes. You may add a cup of coconut cream and half of the bagoong alamang after this. Let the mixture cook using low heat until it reduces to a quarter.

3. Afterwards, we will add the rest of the coconut cream and adjust the flavor by adding more bagoong if necessary. Also add the Serrano peppers or long green pepper.

4. Continue cooking in low heat until the sauce thickens.  Make sure to serve this nice and hot, and you now have enough Bicol Express for 6! Also try serving it the traditional manner– with some steaming, white rice.

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- It is also one of my favorite dish because it is spicy and creamy when you eat it with rice. It can also work as a "pulutan" paired with alcoholic drinks.