Bicol Express is pure comfort food! With pork cubes cooked in coconut milk and chili peppers, it’s rich, creamy, spicy and delicious! Serve with steamed rice for a hearty meal!
The day after I made my very first gising-gising, I packed half of it to work for one of my co-workers to try. She is from Bicol and I was interested to know what she thought of my newfound recipe. Alas! Instead of the rave review I expected, she barely touched the portion I ladled on her plate.
The next day in the break room, she plopped a big Tupperware in front of me and said, “This is how you do spicy. Go big or go home.” Oh. My. Gaawwd! Her Bicol express was so viciously hot I couldn’t feel my tongue after each bite and yet it was so deliriously good I kept digging in for more!
I used about 14 reasonably large Thai chili peppers (siling labuyo) to make this pork Bicol Express and the result is certainly not one for the meek. If you want to temper the heat a bit, use less amount of chilis from what is called for in the recipe or scrape the seeds off the pepper pods before mincing. Either way, hot or mild, make sure to have plenty of steamed rice ready!
Tips on Making Bicol Express:
- If you’re using raw shrimp paste instead of the sauteed shrimp paste recommended in the recipe, make sure to brown it a few minutes longer to rid of the “fishy” smell and taste.
- Coconut milk tends to curdle or separate when brought to a boil or heated too quickly. Cook in a gentle simmer to ensure a smooth, creamy sauce.
- As you can see from our nutritional facts below, this recipe is not exactly waist friendly. Unfortunately, the succulent pork belly cubes and rich, creamy coconut sauce we love come with a price. If you want to trim down some of the fat, swap the belly with a leaner cut such as pork shoulder. You can also sub the pork with boneless, skinless chicken!
Craving for more bold flavors? Gising Gising is a flavorful vegetable dish made with green beans, ground pork, and coconut milk you’ll love for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Ginataang Seafood is my mom’s specialty and it’s special for delicious reasons!
Bicol Express
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons shrimp paste
- 2 pounds pork belly, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 1 cup water
- 14 pieces Thai chili peppers, stemmed and minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a wide pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened.
- Add shrimp paste and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 to 2 minutes until it begins to brown.
- Add pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.
- Add coconut milk and water and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until liquid is reduced.
- Add coconut cream and chili peppers. Continue to cook for about 20 to 25 minutes or until pork is tender and sauce begins to render fat.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
Nutrition
This is the best bicol express I’ve ever had! My mom is bicolana and I was raving about how this recipe made me so happy because it is the perfect amount of coconut flavor, creaminess, and outright heat. I was actually smiling the entire time I was eating it haha
Thank you so much for the feedback, James. Yes, this Bicol express is pretty spicy but definitely delicious 🙂
Hello,
My mother is a Filipina and I’m making this dish for her because she hasn’t had it in a long, long time. I just want to thank you for this wonderful blog!! It is helping me cook this tasty meal for us both, and it is easy to follow and in a good format for printing. I hope you keep this blog going for a long time to come!
–Christina
Thank you so much, Christina! I hope you guys enjoy it!
I made this some time ago, and omg it was sooo spicy, but not in an overbearing way! It added to the flavor and I absolutely loved it. Next time, I think I will sub chicken for the pork belly. The rendered fat made this dish really heavy that I passed out from food coma for like 8 hours haha. Absolutely flavorful dish though, and easy to follow! Thank you for sharing.
LOL yes, this is not the healthiest dish. I actually have a chicken version on the blog https://www.kawalingpinoy.com/chicken-bicol-express/
Hi Lalaine,
Just want to ask if ano yung pwedeng alternative sa Gata? Pwede ba ung All purpose cream or? Or anything? Also, can we add siling haba? Thanks.
Yes, you can swap all-purpose cream. Just make sure you don’t bring it to a boil or it will curdle. And siling haba is fine, in fact, it’s what they use for Bicol Express.
thanks Lalaine and more power!! :’)
🙂
Ay ang galling, pag binago ung number ng servings, automatic nababago ung dami ng ingredients.
Sana sa lahat ng recipe ditto may ganyan. Dalawa lang kasi kami sa bahay, onting portion lang ung niluluto ko.
sobrang helpful 🙂 more power 🙂
Thank you! I am glad you like this feature. Wala pa yung mga ibang recipes but working on them 🙂
Bet ko din po ung metric/us customary, sana lahat may ganyan ding feature esp ung sa metric, grams/liters kasi kami magsukat. anyway super thanks. laking tulong tong website mo.
We tried this recipe tonight and it was soooo easy to make. We had to use Serrano chilies since the Thai chilies were not available but there was PLENTY of heat for us. We had to skip the coconut cream too because we couldn’t find it at the store and simply used corn starch for thickener and skipped the water. It’s definitely worth repeating. Thank you!
Thank you, Penelope, for the feedback. Yes, coconut cream (the first extraction) is usually harder to find but I am glad you were able to adjust the recipe to suit your tastes. Happy holidays!
I was searching the internet for Filipino recipes for my son’s birthday party and came across your blog site. Congratulations on having a fabulous site. Everything is on point. Great photos, interesting stories, clear instructions, and a huge number of recipes. I especially like the tips, and formatting of the recipes.
I tried your pork barbecue and bicol express with some minor tweaks. For the pork barbecue, I did not use the oyster sauce for the marinate…only in the basting sauce. For the bicol express, I added ginger and green beans, and replaced the coconut cream with whipped cream/coconut milk mixture. They turned out to be a hit. Thank you to your blog site.
Aww, thank you so much! You definitely made my day. 🙂
I am from Samar, we don’t cook like this , but it sounds delicious.. I will try to cook this bicol express..thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome!
The lack of chilies disturbs me but I definitely understand that most people cannot handle the heat. We Bicolanos were born from the heat of Mayon Volcano. Haha!
Hello Jeffrey,
This recipe does have chilies, I use Thai chili peppers which I believe is the same as siling labuyo.
I just pored through your site/blog and loved it. I live in Amsterdam and I’m continuously looking for authentic, delicious recipes both from the Philippines and around the world. I have now permanently bookmarked you.
I’ll be trying this recipe of yours this weekend but with one change which I remember from our Bicolana cook from back home in Manila. Instead of the small, fiery siling labuyò, she placed a lot of green finger peppers (ailing pang-sigáng): as much peppers in volume as the meat–at least. However, I will first be removing the seeds and soaking the peppers in salted water (to help temper the heat) for half an hour or so, before slicing them up. I hope that does the trick.
Thank you for your recipe.
Hello Paolo
One reader did comment that traditional bicol express is made with a whole of lot of peppers it’s green in color. Siling pangsigang must be what is used as I can’t imagine using that much siling labuyo and live to tell the tale haha.
It was delicious! Hope you don’t mind but I made a little change. I boiled the pieces of pork first in a little water then let it render its own fat and stir until a little golden and set aside. I throw away most of the fat. Then I followed your recipe, same pan so less cleaning and a little less fat. Thanks!
Hello Delia
I am glad you enjoyed this recipe for bicol express. Of course, I don’t mind that you made changes. The recipes are here for you to tweak to fit your personal tastes. Happy cooking!
Hey! Your colleague is right, at least for me! This is a great recipe. Our household help who is from Bicol says Bicol Express is actually mostly green because of the peppers. Maybe you’d want to try that? Also, I just have to say that you maintain a great site! Cheers!
Hello Jerard
Yes, Bicol Express is really supposed to be very spicy. I think the versions we see in restaurants are “tamed” to suit the tastes of the mainstream. I am very intrigued with it being all green with peppers but I think I’ll pass. I can barely handle the heat of this version of mine haha.
Thank you so much for your feedback. I really appreciate it. 🙂
Hi! did you use just filipino bagoong or a different shrimp paste? I noticed there are quite a selection in the market
Thanx!
Hello Eleanor
I used Filipino bagoong 🙂
aww sarap.. for sure my husband will love this 😀
Hello Lorie
I am sure he’ll love it 🙂
Hi,I’ll just want to ask what is coconut cream?and what is the best alternatives for it if ever I cannot find that here in my place….thanks
Hi Amy
Coconut cream is thick coconut milk, the first extraction or kakang gata.
hi if coconut cream is the first extraction what is coconut milk then? is it the one with a little bit of water?
Hi Grace
Yes, coconut milk will have a bit more water than coconut cream. If you let it stand for a while, the “cream” will actually rise to the top. This is usually thicker and more flavorful. 🙂