Bicol Express

"Bicol Express is the name given to Sinilihan, a popular dish which originated in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. It is a stew made from long chilies (siling labuyo, lada panjang in Malay/Indonesian), coconut milk, shrimp paste or stockfish, onion, pork, and garlic. It is said to have evolved from gulay na may lada, another Bicolano dish which is nowadays also presented as one of the many variants of Bicol Express." Source From Wikipedia

Basically the original Bicol Express is a lot different from what is being introduced here in Manila and some other places. According to some Bicolanos the original Bicol Express has less or no coconut milk at all. It's less saucy and much drier and has more "siling labuyo"(hot chili).

Anyway this is my Bicol Express Recipe.

Ingredients:

Cooking oil
1 tablespoon Chopped garlic
1 head Chopped onions
1 head Chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoon fresh tumeric (optional)
1/4 kg pork thinly sliced
1 1/2 tb Chopped hot chili(siling Labuyo)
2-3 teaspoon of Bagoong alamang
3 cups of thick Coconut milk
1 cup coconut cream
2 c Fresh long green chillies sliced lengthwise
salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Saute garlic in hot oil. Add onions and cook until translucent.
2. Add in fresh ginger, dilao, and the sliced cooked pork. Stir continually for 5 minutes.
3. Add bagoong alamang and chopped hot chilli(siling labuyo). Stir until the pork is completely covered by the mixture.
4. Pour in coconut milk and add the sliced hot long green chili( Add according to your desired spiciness)
5. Continue cooking for about 20 minutes.
6. Add the coconut cream and simmer until the sauce thickens. Add salt if necessary.

Indeed, there's a lot of version on how to cook Bicol Express as I've observe and I believe that it depends on the taste of the person cooking the dish. You only have two options and that is to stick to the old version of cooking or enhance it according to your style and taste.