Bicol Express is a regional dish with shrimp paste cooked with coconut milk, plenty of chilies, and some pork. It is spicy, creamy, and flavorful with a stew-like consistency.
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What is Bicol Express?
Bicol Express is a popular dish in the Philippines known for its rich, spicy, and creamy flavor. It primarily consists of pork and shrimp paste cooked in fresh coconut milk and chili peppers or siling haba. A signature of Bicolano cuisine, this highlights the region's fondness for coconut milk and spicy food.
The name is inspired by the non-stop train service that runs between Manila and the Bicol region. In the local dialect, the dish is also called "balaw," a term for salted shrimp or shrimp paste, a condiment that imparts a distinct salty and umami flavor to the dish.
Ingredients you'll need
Shrimp paste is also known as bagoong alamang, salted shrimp fry, or salted shrimp.
Notes and substitutions
- Pork: I used pork belly—great flavor and texture, though very fatty. Pork shoulder or butt is another good option. It is inexpensive and has good marbling (white lines of fat between the lean meat).
- Raw shrimp paste: These are krill or tiny shrimp fermented with a ton of salt. They come in many forms, sometimes called salted shrimp. Buy the raw, fresh variety that isn't ground or crushed.
- Sugar: I added some sugar to balance the saltiness of the dish. Some recipes use chopped pineapple instead.
- Long hot peppers: You can use other types of peppers, like jalapeños or Korean peppers, as little or as much as you want. You can remove their seeds and rinse them in hot water if you want to reduce the heat.
How to make this recipe
Step 1: Rinse 1 pound of raw shrimp paste under cold running water a few times to remove the salt and pick out any foreign objects.
Step 2: Place 1 pound of pork in a Dutch oven or a heavy-bottomed pot. Add about 1 cup of water, 1 bay leaf, 2 smashed garlic, a generous pinch of salt, and some pepper.
Step 3: Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes until the meat becomes tender and most of the water has evaporated.
Step 4: Remove the lid and allow the remaining water to evaporate. Render the fat from the pork and lightly brown the meat, tossing it constantly. Be careful, as they may splatter.
PRO TIP: Always brown the meat first for a deeper, more complex flavor. This simple step unlocks layers of aroma and taste in your dish!
Step 5: Transfer them to a plate and remove excess pork fat.
Step 6: Add a bit of oil and sauté 2 tablespoons of ginger for a minute. Then add 1 onion and 4 minced garlic; cook until softened for about 2 minutes.
Add half of the chili peppers, then sauté for about a minute or longer if you wish to reduce the spiciness.
Step 7: Add the shrimp paste and spread it out to let most of the water evaporate. Once it starts to dry out, add some oil and sauté for a minute to develop its flavor.
Step 8: Add 1 can of coconut milk, then mix them together while scraping the fond or browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Taste to see if it needs a little sugar to balance the flavors.
Step 9: When it starts to simmer, add the meat and mix them together. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes to absorb all the delicious flavors. You can add a bit of water, if necessary.
Step 10: Add the rest of the chili peppers and turn off the heat.
Serve and enjoy with steamed white rice!
Recipe FAQs
Bicol Express can be made in two ways: one way is to cook it like stew, like in this recipe, where the meat and shrimp paste are simmered in coconut milk. It is creamy, savory, and packed with shrimp flavor.
The other version is drier, where coconut milk is cooked off until the oil splits. There is usually less meat and a lot more chilies, making it spicier.
Shrimp paste comes in different forms and goes by many names. It is known as bagoong alamang in the Philippines, made with krill or tiny, shrimp-like crustaceans fermented with a lot of salt.
It is called balaw in the Bicol region, while dinailan is the compacted, clay-like version pounded and dried into a brick. The saltiness, texture, and color may vary.
Binagoongan is a pork dish prepared with a sautéed variety of shrimp paste, and it doesn't usually include coconut milk.
Bicol Express is a shrimp paste dish made with the raw variety (not the sautéed ones sold in jars), cooked with coconut milk and a generous amount of chilies.
Some variations don't have much pork, and some even include pineapple to balance the flavors—particularly in an area called Daet, where pineapples are abundant.
Try other dishes with shrimp paste
- Pork Binagoongan: A savory pork dish sautéed and simmered in shrimp paste, often served with eggplant or yardlong beans.
- Kare-Kare: A Filipino beef stew and vegetables with a thick peanut sauce and served with a side of shrimp paste.
- Pinakbet (Pakbet): A mixed vegetable dish sautéed with shrimp paste and vegetables like squash, okra, eggplant, yardlong beans, and bitter melon.
- Ginisang Bagoong: Sautéed shrimp paste with aromatics and pork.
- Laing: Dried taro leaves cooked in coconut milk, chilies, and shrimp paste. It's a creamy and spicy dish native to the Bicol region.
- Ensaladang Talong (Grilled Eggplant): A grilled eggplant salad seasoned with shrimp paste, mixed with tomatoes and onions.
Other pork recipes you may like
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📖 Recipe
Bicol Express
Equipment
- Dutch oven, heavy-bottomed pot, or sauté pan
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork belly or shoulder cut into small pieces (see note)
- 2 tablespoons minced ginger
- 6 garlic cloves 2 smashed, 4 minced
- 1 small onion chopped
- 4-8 green or red chilies sliced (see note)
- 1 pound raw shrimp paste (see note)
- 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk sub: coconut cream (kakang gata)
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- Sugar, to taste optional (see note)
- Neutral oil (for sautéing)
Instructions
- Rinse the raw shrimp paste under cold running water a few times to remove the salt and pick out any foreign objects.
- Place the pork in a Dutch oven or a heavy-bottomed pot. Add about 1 cup of water, a bay leaf, 2 smashed garlic, a generous pinch of salt, and some pepper.
- Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes until the meat becomes tender and most of the water has evaporated.
- Remove the lid and allow the remaining water to evaporate. Render the fat from the pork and lightly brown the meat, tossing it constantly. Be careful, as they may splatter.
- Transfer the meat to a plate and remove excess pork fat.
- Add a bit of oil and saute the ginger for a minute. Then add the onion and 4 minced garlic; cook until softened for about 2 minutes.
- Add half of the chili peppers, then sauté for about a minute or longer if you wish to reduce the spiciness.
- Add the shrimp paste and spread it out to let most of the water evaporate. Once it starts to dry out, add some oil and sauté for a minute to develop its flavor.
- Pour the coconut milk, then mix them together while scraping the fond or browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Taste to see if it needs a little sugar to balance the flavors.
- When it starts to simmer, add the meat and mix them together. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes to absorb all the delicious flavors. You can add a bit of water, if necessary.
- Add the rest of the chili peppers and turn off the heat.
Notes
- Pork: I used pork belly—great flavor and texture, though very fatty. Pork shoulder or butt is another good option. It is inexpensive and has good marbling (white lines of fat between the lean meat).
- Raw shrimp paste: These are krill or tiny shrimp fermented with a ton of salt. They come in many forms, sometimes called salted shrimp. Buy the raw, fresh variety that isn't ground or crushed.
- Sugar: I added some sugar to balance the saltiness of the dish. Some recipes use chopped pineapple instead.
- Long hot peppers: You can use other types of peppers, like jalapeños or Korean peppers, as little or as much as you want. You can remove their seeds and rinse them in hot water if you want to reduce the heat.
Jomelyn
I love this bicol express recipe. With Lots of coconut milk.
Nora Rey
Hi Jomelyn! Thank you and yeeees love coconut milk! =)
Ben
Wow! I wasn’t sure i’d like the pineapple but it works! My grandma actually said they make it the same way in Naga City. Thanks for the recipe
Nora Rey
Hello Ben! That's so good to hear! It's not very often to see bicolexpress recipes with pineapple, but it sure is delicious with it! Thank you!