wow tlg new information nice to know ☺️, so prng ang dating eh hindi tlg sa bicol nag mula ang bicol express o mga tga bicol yun mga may ari cgru ng eatery
Sabi ng prof kong historian sa isang karenderya sa paranaque ang origin ng bicol express. Kaya to tinawag na bicol express dahil malapit/daanan to train papuntang bicol
Using real coconut milk actually makes the dish more flavorful. :) My Father is Bicolano and he says real Bicol Express needs to be cooked with freshly squeezed coconut milk. He uses the second squeeze (thin coconut milk) to soften the meat. Then, he uses the first squeeze (coconut cream) towards the end and cooks it in a way that the oil from the coconut milk is naturally extracted. He also uses labuyo (small variety of chili that really packs a powerful punch in terms of spice). And for some reason, he cooks the dish with as little stirring as possible. What comes out of his cooking pan is Bicol Express that feels out of this world. I’m biased but I’ve never tasted or cooked Bicol Express as good as his. (Sorry for the word vomit. Miss my Dad all of a sudden. He’s so far away. :’))
Labuyo isn’t spicy for my taste so everytime I cook Bicol Express, I use spicier peppers. I usually use ghost pepper because I have one in my backyard.
All cooking with coconut milk should be done with the freshly-squeezed stuff. Products like canned or powdered always leave something to be desired, even high quality ones.
When us from south luzon just get some niyog (coconut) from the tree (free of charge) asking our tiyong (uncle) or tiyang (aunt) if we can get one and if we can borrow the kayuran (coconut shaver)... hahaha...
We know that... we were just comparing, i personally never bought the canned ones because the best gata for me are the freshly made ones from the niyog itself...
5:00 if you use original coconut milk (not from can) you will need to put water on coconut then squeeze the milk from it... Usually it is squeezed twice... The first squeezed coconut milk is more concentrated than the second one. Usually, when boiling to soften the pork, the 2nd squeezed coconut milk is used.. Then if the cooking is nearly finished, the 1st squeezed coconut milk is added since it has more flavor.. This is the traditional way and probably what was done on the video you watched... other variations burn the coconut meat first before squeezing out the milk.. This gives smokey flavor 🙂
A friend of my father who's from Bicol once cooked us Bicol Express and what he did was the food is like 2/3 chili and 1/3 pork rather than how we see it on the market which have more pork than chili.
Ganun naman kasi talaga yun for native bicolanos. Yung Bicol express kasi sa Manila ibang luto. Sa Bicol mas madaming sili at alamang. Kumbaga sahog lang yung baboy.
Fun fact: Bicol Express is not originally from Bicol Cely Kalaw invented the dish in her Manila restaurant. She was inspired by the traditional Bicolano coconut-infused dishes and named the new invention after a Filipino train service (PNR) operating from Manila to the Bicol region.
OMG BICOL EXPRESS! I'M BICOLANAAAA!!! I'm happy you tried one of the best dish in bicol! Come and visit Bicol too. 😊 Mayon rest house is one of the best spot to see the aesthetically view of Mayon Volcano 🌋 God Bless more power!!! #FightingUragons #SiliNation #Bicol
Bicol is currently underrated with a lot of really beautiful places such as Caramoan, Sorsogon, and Albay. I hope people will not pollute bicol and preserve its beautiful ecosystem.
I think you forgot to add lemon grass, the standard spice for dishes with coconut milk! It perks up the taste and the aromatic smell! Also cooking the coconut milk near to its oily state! And boom an aromatic super delicious bicol express! But salute to you Mr. Bul for your adventurous taste!
Bicol express is one of my favorite Filipino dishes. You did a good job cooking this dish. Special Filipino taste that sets it apart from samgyupsal is coconut milk, ginger and shrimp paste. I use pork shoulder meat, not pork belly. It will be less greasy.
My uncle cooked bicol express everytime we go to vacation in Bicol. I love how he put so many siling labuyo ❤ Plus crabs with lots of coconut milk on it. 😭
This is my brother’s specialty. Thank you for sharing your appreciation for pinoy food ☺️. I’m sure your wife told you that pinoy food is rich (meaning, super flavorful) and meant to be eaten with a lot of rice because ingredients are expensive especially for big families long ago in The Philippines. But now, too much rice is not good for us because of diabetes. I try to eat like Koreans. Less rice and more vegetables now. Long live the BulBul family!
Mr.B, this is one of the version of its name: The food is sooo spicy that upon the first spoonful, you have to run as fast as you can to the kitchen to gargle, and ease the burning sensation inside your mouth. The way you run is like the BICOL EXPRESS train from manila to legazpi
Whenever i order Bicol Express for takeout, i usually cook it again&add Sriracha sauce, hot chili flakes and chili oil. Usually most restaurants don't make it too spicy so that everyone can eat it. The extra cooking time for the coconut milk with the hot chili oil enhances the flavor too.
Look's delicious.. I watched KBS World a Korean Show in youtube.. Koreans like bulalo .. next video please Mr. Bulbul try Bulalo..and also try Adobong Pusit.. ☺
You speak English very well for me Mr. Bulbul. 👏 I'm really glad that you've cooked this. I'm a native of Bicol and we use real coconut milk fresh from coconut trees since coconut tree is abundant in our province. Thanks so much for patronizing Filipino food! You bring good vibes to us all! More power to you!
yoorc680 I think Mr. Bulbul needs to control his drinking. Look at what happened to him in the previous videos. I think he will focus now on food reviews instead.
here in bicol the shrimp paste (bagoong) is the main dish, adding pork is just like a seasoning that's made for the bagoong to be tasty so it's like 3/4 bagoong and a lot of chili's and 1/4 or less of pork
Thanks for this info. I agree with you about the amount of Bagoong Alamang but it should be the fresh bagoong Alamang not the bottled one because it will be so salty. Thanks again, I miss so much the Bagoong ALamang in the Philippines.
Cely Kalaw joined a cooking competition but the dish had no n name. Train passes by and they called it Bicol Express. 1938 PNR can travel manila to bicol without hassle hence, express. ❤️
From what I know, the original Bicol Express does not have meat in it. It's entirely bird's eye chilies cooked in coconut milk/cream. Then when its was introduced in Metro Manila, the people there cannot tolerate the spiciness so they added meat in it. Some put long beans and some veggies.
Mr Bulbul, just to give you a little knowledge about how we cook our meat, we put salt or any spices that could help build the taste of the meat before we cook. It's similar to marinated meat but just salt.
This dude is Korean who I think is married to a Filipina who speaks Korean. He cooks Filipino food and drink Filipino liquors. His name is Mr. Bulbul, he was asked before if he knew what that meant in Filipino language, then he said yes then laughed - it means “pubic hair” 😂😂. In the Philippines we use this expression “bulbol mo!” which means “you are a pubic hair” when we are irritated or angry or teasing someone or if you are in disbelief.
Hi! Thanks for featuring bicol express ☺️ You may try to cook it until coconut milk starts to transform into oil. Authentic bicol express also uses a different kind of bagoong.
According to some historians, it was around the 1960s, when Cecilia "Tita Cely" Villanueva Kalaw opened a resto in Malate, Manila. Tita Cely, by the way, is originally from Laguna but she also stayed in Bicol most of her childhood, making her culinary influence more of the spicy side. This is the reason why customers of her eatery complained of the too much spiciness of her main dish, which was "Laing." Thus, to balance the taste, she decided to add coconut milk, and this became a hit to her customers. It was later named "Bicol Express," inspired by the train that passes their place, which has a route of Manila to Bicol and vice versa.
I lived here in Bicol and my own style of making bicol express is by using lechon kawali, making it a little special than the original. Crunchy pork skin and soft meat with smooth sauce and ofcourse the chiliness is still there. 😁👌
It’s called Bicol Express because back in the day there is literally a PNR (Philippine National Railway) stop all the way to bicol, and the signature of Bicol is of course spicy food so the name just stuck when you travel to Bicol using the train (express)
Re: 2nd milk added...If you use fresh coconut milk, the 1st press coconut milk is saved for later when the dish is almost done. Letting it simmer with pure coco milk makes it tastier. You can also use fresh shrimp paste (ingredient in kimchi) as a substitute if there is no bagoong available.
