Filipino Bicol Express Recipe
Bicol Express or also known as Sinilihan is a famous dish which originated in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. It is pork strips and siling haba (finger chilies) cooked in coconut milk. Bicol Express is very rich and very spicy. Some versions include ginger, some include dilaw (turmeric), some include bagoong or shrimp paste. The dish is said to have evolved from gulay na may lada, another Bicolano dish which is nowadays also presented as one of the many variants of Bicol Express.
Basically the original Bicol Express is a lot different from what is being introduced here in Manila and some other places. According to some Bicolanos the original Bicol Express has less or no coconut milk at all. It’s less saucy and much drier and has more “siling labuyo”(hot chili).
Ingredients:
• 1/4 kilo pork, thinly sliced
• 1 cup Baguio beans
• 3 cups long chili or jalapeno peppers
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 head of garlic, minced
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup coconut cream
• 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
• Salt to taste
Directions:
• In a bowl of water with salt, soak chili peppers for 30 minutes then rinse and strain.
• In a cooking pan, heat cooking oil and brown sliced pork for a few minutes.
• In another pan, sauté minced garlic and onion.
• Add to the sauté the browned pork.
• Then add the coconut milk, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the chili peppers, Baguio beans and cook until dish gets a little dry.
• Add the coconut cream and simmer until the sauce thickens.
• Salt to taste.
Indeed, there’s a lot of version on how to cook Bicol Express and it depends on the taste of the person cooking the dish. There are two options and that is to stick to the old version of cooking or enhance it according to your style and taste.
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