Bicol Express (Filipino Pork Belly in Spicy Coconut Cream Stew)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 50 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
This dish takes its name from a train line between Manila and the Bicol region in southeastern Luzon, where coconut and chilies go into cooking more freely than almost anywhere else in the Philippines.
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Pork belly simmers in coconut milk with shrimp paste and chilies until the coconut fat separates and the meat starts frying in it. By the end there is almost no loose sauce, just a creamy coating on every piece.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Slice 600g pork belly thinly into bite-size pieces.
Finely mince 1 onion, 5 garlic cloves, and 20g ginger, then slice 6 green chilies on the diagonal so they are ready to add near the end.
- 2
Heat a heavy pot over medium heat and add the pork belly without extra oil.
Stir for about 5 minutes until the edges turn lightly golden and enough pork fat coats the bottom of the pot.
- 3
Add the minced onion, garlic, and ginger, then cook over medium heat for 3 more minutes.
When the onion turns translucent, stir in 1 tablespoon shrimp paste until its raw smell softens and the fat looks seasoned.
- 4
Pour in 600ml coconut milk and 1.5 tablespoons fish sauce.
Once the edges begin to bubble, reduce to low heat; keep it at a gentle simmer and scrape the bottom occasionally so the coconut does not scorch.
- 5
Simmer gently over low heat for about 20 minutes.
When the liquid reduces and coconut oil appears on the surface, stir for 2 more minutes so the pork starts cooking in the oily sauce rather than watery liquid.
- 6
Add the sliced green chilies and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Stop when the sauce clings tightly to the pork and almost no loose liquid remains, then check the saltiness and turn off the heat.
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