What kind of dish is this?

This is a Filipino stew made with green chilies, coconut milk, shrimp paste, onions, pork, ginger, and garlic.
It is a very spicy dish. It is served with rice.
The spiciness in the creaminess is great.

Name

Bicol Express＝A long-distance train connecting Manila, the capital city, and Legazpi, the central city of Bicol region.

When the developer of this dish was thinking about the name of the dish, a Bicol Express passing nearby sounded the whistle.

History

It was created in the 1960s as an improvement on “gulay na may lada,” a local dish from the Bicol region of the Philippines.
Bicol Express and “gulay na may lada” are almost the same dish.
The only differences are the type of chili used, the meat, and the shrimp paste.
Some people claim that “gulay na may lada” also contains meat and shrimp paste.

One day, a chef working in Manila received a request for a spicy and juicy dish.
Since the chef was from the Bicol region, he served a local dish from the Bicol region called “gulay na may lada” with pork and shrimp paste.
However, this dish was too spicy for the people of Manila.

The chef used a different chili pepper than the one used in the Bicol region to reduce the spiciness.
The result is this dish that is moderately spicy and juicy.

The moderately spicy dish was complete.
Now what to name it?
Just as the chef was having trouble deciding on a name, a Bicol Express running very close to the restaurant blew the whistle.
That’s it!
The chef gave the dish the name “Bicol Express”.

※Coconut and chili are often used in Bicol cuisine. There are more than 50 million coconut trees in the region.
※Chili peppers were introduced by the Spaniards in the 1500s.
※Sautéed garlic and onions were also brought in by the Spaniards.

Thoughts

This dish is creamy, but very spicy. There are many locals who cannot eat it without turning down the spiciness.
However, if you don’t use a certain amount of chili, the goodness of this dish will disappear.
I guess it depends on the coconut milk used, but coconut milk and chili. Because this combination is good. The spiciness in the creaminess, this is good.

When I ate this dish, sweat poured out of me like a waterfall.
After I finished it, I took a shower. Then I drank a well-chilled beer.
I was blissful.

I strongly recommend it to people who like spicy food and Thai green curry.

I also enjoyed it when I replaced the pork with tuna.

Recipe of Bicol Express

Local recipe

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Course Main Course

Cuisine Filipino

Servings 4

Ingredients

No.1

1 tbsp oil
15 g garlic
15 g ginger
1 onion finely chopped

No.2

450 g pork belly sliced into cubes
Free black pepper

No.3

200 ml water

No.4

Free red chilli
Free green chili
2 tbsp oyster and white miso dip originally alamang (shrimp paste)

No.5

400 ml coconut milk

No.6

Free salt

Instructions

Heat the oil and fry the garlic, ginger and onion.
Saute until the onions are soft.
Add the pork and black pepper.
Saute until the color changes.
Add water and bring to a boil.
Bring to a boil, cover, and heat over medium heat until the water is almost gone.
About 20 minutes.
Add the red chilli, green chili, and dip or alamang.
Mix.
Add the coconut milk and mix well.
Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, and simmer over medium heat.
Until the simmering water is reduced by half.
Stir occasionally.
About 30 minutes.
Adjust the seasoning with salt.
Finished