Bicol Express
Pork belly simmered in coconut milk with shrimp paste and a lot of chilli until the sauce reduces and turns oily. Bicol's hot pork, for rice.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 15 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 1 hr 30 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Hot
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Bicol Express is pork cooked in coconut milk with shrimp paste and a lot of chilli, until the milk reduces, splits and fries the meat in its own oil. Pork belly is rendered first, then garlic, onion, ginger and bagoong alamang, the pink fermented shrimp paste, go in and fry until the kitchen smells of it. Coconut milk follows, and the pot simmers until the pork is tender and the sauce is thick and glistening. Long green chillies and bird's-eye chillies go in near the end, with coconut cream to finish. Serve it with plenty of plain rice.
What you'll need
10 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Pork, belly, or half belly and half shoulder, in 2 cm cubes800 g
- Neutral oil15 ml
- Garlic, chopped6 clove
- Onion, chopped1 medium
- Ginger, finely chopped20 g
- Shrimp paste, bagoong alamang, the sautéed kind30 ml
- Coconut milk400 ml
- Water200 ml
- Fresh chilli, 6 long green chillies (siling haba), sliced, and 4 to 10 bird's-eye chillies (siling labuyo), chopped70 g
- Coconut cream200 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Put the pork in a wide heavy pot with the oil over medium heat and cook, stirring now and then, for 10 to 12 minutes until the fat runs and the edges start to brown.
12 min
Step 2
Add the garlic, onion and ginger and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the shrimp paste and fry for 2 minutes; it will smell strong, which is right.
5 min
Step 3
Pour in the coconut milk and water, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered on low heat for 40 to 50 minutes, stirring now and then, until the pork is tender and the sauce has reduced and begun to split into oil.
50 min
Tip: The split is the point. Filipino cooks wait for the coconut milk to give up its oil, and that is when the flavour arrives.
Step 4
Add the chillies and the coconut cream and simmer 8 to 10 minutes more, until the sauce is thick and clings to the pork. Taste, and add a little more shrimp paste if it needs salt.
10 min
Step 5
Rest it for 5 minutes off the heat and serve with plenty of plain rice.
5 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 874 kcal
- Protein
- 60.9 g
- Carbs
- 13.9 g
- Fat
- 64.7 g
- Saturated fat
- 39.9 g
- Fibre
- 4.1 g
- Sugar
- 7.2 g
- Sodium
- 699 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Shellfish
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Pork → Peeled prawns
Reduce the coconut milk alone for 25 minutes first, then add the prawns with the chillies and cook only 4 to 5 minutes.
Tips
- Seed the long chillies for flavour with less heat. The bird's-eye chillies set the real heat, so add them a few at a time.
- Shoulder alone is leaner but needs about 15 minutes longer to soften.
- It is better the next day, once the chilli has settled into the oil.
History & culture
Bicol, at the southeastern end of Luzon, is coconut and chilli country, and its cooks put both in almost everything. Bicol Express is eaten across the Philippines as a rice dish for lunch or dinner, and Manila restaurants sell it as the hot one on the menu. In Bicol itself, people will tell you it is not that hot.
The story most often told is that a Bicolana cook in Manila's Malate district named it in the late 1960s after the train that ran between Manila and the Bicol region. The dish itself draws on sinilihan, the older Bicolano way of cooking meat and fish in coconut milk with chilli.
Traditional — Bagoong alamang comes raw, pink and very salty, or sautéed, darker and sweeter with garlic. This uses the sautéed kind from a jar; raw paste needs frying longer. Some cooks add squash, or use shrimp instead of pork.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Bicol Express take?
1 hr 30 min all in — 15 min prep, 1 hr 15 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
Hot.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Shellfish. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Gluten-free.
7 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Dutch oven, Chef's knife.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list a salt amount. We will not invent one.
What can I use instead?
Pork → Peeled prawns. Reduce the coconut milk alone for 25 minutes first, then add the prawns with the chillies and cook only 4 to 5 minutes.
Any tips from this recipe?
Seed the long chillies for flavour with less heat. The bird's-eye chillies set the real heat, so add them a few at a time. Shoulder alone is leaner but needs about 15 minutes longer to soften. It is better the next day, once the chilli has settled into the oil.
Can I prepare this ahead?
It is better the next day, once the chilli has settled into the oil.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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