Bicol Express is known for its creamy, spicy flavor. It’s one of my favorite dishes, and I use the hottest pepper I could find whenever I cook it.
Although it’s called Bicol Express Recipe, the term “Bicol Express Recipe” unfortunately did not originate in Bicol. It was coined by Cely Kalaw, a native of Laguna, who also created this spicy pork stew recipe. And this recipe was popularized during a cooking competition in the Malate district in the 1970s.
Cely was inspired to create this recipe from an existing Bicol dish, “Na Tong” or “Laing.” She developed the fiery-hot recipe using pork, shrimp paste, coconut milk, and hot chilies.
And the recipe’s name? Bicol Express was derived from the public railway service called “Bicol Express,” which runs from Manila to the Bicol Region. The term was suggested by his brother, who heard the noisy train passing by their restaurant.
When cooking this dish, I recommend using extracted coconut milk from mature coconuts rather than canned coconut milk. Then you will boil it until the coconut oil blends with the sauce. The taste really makes a difference.
This recipe is very flexible; you can add other ingredients to make it healthier, such as malungay, spinach, taro leaves (dahon ng gabi), chili leaves (dahon ng sili), sweet potato leaves (talnos ng kamote), and Kangkong leaves, etc.