Bicol Express

Named after a train route between Bicol and Manila, this rather spicy dish is more or less the Philippine's version of Thai curry. Or something. Anyway, it's delicious. It's basically pork meat with hot peppers and green beans in a coconut cream sauce (coconut cream is a thicker, richer version of coconut milk.)

The only exotic ingredients are bagoong (Philippine shrimp paste) and the coconut milk and cream. I'll tell you how you can make your own of the latter, in case you can't find any in stores.

Ingredients:

1/4 kilo pork, thinly sliced (around 1/2 pound)

1 cup of fresh or frozen green beans, cut to around 1 1/2 inch lengths

8 hot green peppers such as (large) jalapeños

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 head of garlic (8 to 10 cloves), peeled and finely chopped

1 cup coconut milk, or 1/2 cup coconut cream mixed with 1/2 cup water

1 cup coconut cream

2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/2 tablespoon bagoong

Salt and pepper to taste

(Optional:)

1/2 red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped (for color, more than anything)

1/4 cup chopped green onions (for garnish)

Instructions:

Soak the hot peppers in salted water for 30 minutes then drain. remove stems, cut in half lengthwise, remove pith and eeeds then cut into 1/2 inch lengths. (See Helpful Hints below.)

Heat oil in a large skillet, then brown the pork.

Add the onion and garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add the coconut milk. Heat until bubbly, lower heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the beans and peppers. Cook uncovered until everything starts to get a bit dry, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Add the coconut cream and bagoong then simmer until sauce thickens.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with green onions if desired. Serve over rice. Serves 4.

Coconut milk/coconut cream:

If you have access to fresh coconuts: drain and reserve the water then cut the nut in half and scrape out the meat. Coconut milk can be made by taking a 50/50 mixture of the meat and the water, running it through your blender until very smooth, then straining with cheesecloth. Coconut cream is the same but with way more meat and less water: more like a 75/25 or 80/20 ratio. (You can drink the remaining coconut water if you like. It's very nutritious.)

If you can't find fresh coconuts, not to worry! You can use packages of shredded coconut meat that you'll find in the baking goods section of most supermarkets. Soak that meat in some water for 30 minutes. To make coconut milk, use 2 parts rehydrated meat to 1 part of the water you soaked it in. For cream, make it 4 parts meat to 1 part water. Blend and strain as above.

For either of the two solutions above, make sure you buy enough coconut(s) to yield one cup each of the milk and cream.

You can even substitute skim milk mixed with coconut powder or liquid extract for the coconut milk, and heavy cream with powder or extract for the coconut cream.

Helpful hints:

 Wear latex gloves when deseeding and slicing the hot peppers to prevent your hands from getting burnt. Discard the gloves and thoroughly wash your hands afterward. Don't rub your eyes for awhile!

If the peppers burn your mouth, don't drink water as that just spreads the hot chili oil around in your mouth. I recommend drinking cold milk or fizzy drinks such as soda pop or beer: the bit of milk fat tends to come between the chili oil and the skin in your mouth/tongue, and the fizziness of the other drinks helps bubble away the said oil.

When selecting your peppers, keep in mind that the wider a pepper's "shoulder" (at the stem end) is, the milder it is, and the narrower, the hotter. Just as a general rule of thumb. So select your peppers according to how hot you like your food.

If you prefer, you can substitute chicken or even fresh fish for the pork.

Please don't substitute Thai or Vietnamese shrimp paste for the bagoong as those varieties are way stronger than the Philippine version and will overpower your dish. If you absolutely can't find bagoong you can omit it from the recipe: it won't taste quite the same but it'll still be OK.