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Bicol Express (Pork Belly and Long Chillies in Coconut Milk)

Bicol Express (Pork Belly and Long Chillies in Coconut Milk) reads richness 8.2, umami 7.9 and marine & briny 5.0 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Filipino main, about 1 hr 18 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 8.2 · Umami 7.9 · Marine & Briny 5.0 · Salinity 4.8 · Funk & Ferment 4.4 · Allium 4.3 · Sweetness 4.2 · Heat 3.9 · Nutty 3.0 · Fruity 2.8 · Warm Spice 2.0 · Smoke 1.7 · Floral 1.6 · Herbaceous 1.1 · Earthy 1.0 · Bitterness 0.9 · Sourness 0.5

What's in it (10)

Time & effort: about 1 hr 18 min (1 hr 10 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 235.8 kcal, 4.1 g protein, 21.2 g fat, 7.9 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

  1. Render the pork belly strips in the oil in a wide pan over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fat has run and the meat is lightly browned at the edges. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of the fat.
  2. Add the garlic, onion and ginger and fry 5 minutes until soft and fragrant.
  3. Add the bagoong alamang and fry 3 minutes, mashing it into the hot fat until it turns a shade darker and smells savoury and roasted rather than sharply fishy. Bagoong alamang is fermented krill, not the fish bagoong used in pinakbet, and the two are not interchangeable; buy the sauteed pink kind in a jar from a Filipino grocer.
  4. Pour in the coconut milk, bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered 30 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the pork is tender and the liquid has reduced by about a third.
  5. Add the sliced siling haba and the chopped labuyo and simmer 10 minutes. The long green chillies are the vegetable of the dish, not a seasoning, which is why there are 400 g of them; Bicol cooks use whole handfuls and the heat is meant to be substantial.
  6. Pour in the coconut cream and cook 10 to 12 minutes more, uncovered, without stirring much. The sauce will thicken and then break, releasing a slick of clear coconut oil at the surface. That broken, oily state is correct for Bicol Express and gives it the name gata sa langis in some households.
  7. Taste and adjust with a little more bagoong if it needs salt. Rest 5 minutes and serve with rice. There should be far more sauce than looks sensible; it is meant to be spooned generously over the rice.

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Keep reading: what richness, umami, marine & briny mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.