Bicol Express ala Bebet – Bisita Kusina Episode 1

Bicol express is a popular Filipino dish. It is composed of pork, chili pepper, small shrimps or shrimp paste, and coconut milk. This dish is what is being featured on our first episode of the segment called “Bisita Kusina”, wherein I am visiting the kitchens of our kababayans to feature their special recipes.

Today I visited the kitchen of our kababayan, Gilbert “Bebet” Lainez, in Buffalo Grove Illinois. He lives a few miles south from my place. I heard from common friends and acquaintances that his version of Bicol Express is something worth tasting. I had the privilege of tasting it first hand, and it was really fantastic. I am thankful that he agreed to share his recipe for all 0f us to enjoy.

This was the first time that I did this kind of episode. I think that it should be done more often because there are lots of talented cooks out there that deserve to be recognized. Bebet is one of them, and I must say that I really loved his version of Bicol Express. I hope that I can do this more often. I love to visit your kitchen too, so let me know if you are interested. We can visit you, no matter where you are in the world.

Bebet’s Bicol express version was really good. It can be eaten as a main dish with rice, and it can also be enjoyed as a pulutan. The pork was tender and it had the right amount of spice and creaminess. I tried his recipe here at home and everyone liked it.

If you have a recipe that you want to be featured and you want me to visit your kitchen, let me know. Drop me a comment or send me a message though our contact us page. I hope to see you soon.

Try Bebet’s Bicol Express Recipe. Let us know what you think.

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Bicol Express ala Bebet

This is the first episode of our Bisita Kusina series wherein Bebet Lainez shared his Bicol Express recipe.

Course Pork

Cuisine Filipino

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 6

Author Vanjo Merano

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. Pork belly sliced into cubes
• 3 to 4 tablespoons spicy bagoong alamang
• 4 Jalapeno peppers sliced
• 4 cups coconut milk
• 2 thumbs ginger julienne
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Heat a large cooking pot.
• Sear the pork. Continue to cook until it turns light brown and oil gets extracted. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a cooking pot. Sauce garlic, onion, and ginger. Continue to cook until the onion becomes soft.
• Add the sautéed pork. Stir. Continue to sauce for 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the shrimp paste (bagoong alamang) stir. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Add jalapeño pepper. Stir. Cook fo a minute.
• Pour-in coconut milk. Stir and let boil. Continue to cook between low to medium heat for 45 minutes.
• Season with salt and ground black pepper.
• Transfer to a serving plate. Serve.
• Share and enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 6g

Watch the Video on How to Cook Bicol Express ala Bebet