Bicol Express

Ingredients

• 700 g pork belly, cut into 2 cm strips
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 250 ml thick coconut cream
• 12 siling haba (long green chillies), sliced on the diagonal
• 6 siling labuyo, chopped
• 3 tbsp bagoong alamang (shrimp paste)
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 40 g fresh ginger, cut into matchsticks
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper

Before you cook

• Cut the pork belly into strips about the thickness of your finger.
• Slice the long chillies on a steep diagonal and leave the seeds in unless you want it tamer.
• Cut the ginger into fine matchsticks.
• Keep the coconut cream separate from the coconut milk.

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a wide heavy pan over medium heat.
2. Add the pork belly strips and fry them for 8 to 10 minutes, turning, until browned and the fat has rendered out.
3. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat.
4. Add the garlic, onion and ginger and cook them for 4 minutes until soft and fragrant.
5. Stir in the shrimp paste and fry it for 2 minutes until it darkens and loses its raw smell.
6. Pour in the 400 ml of coconut milk and bring it to a gentle simmer.
7. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pork is tender and the liquid has reduced by half.
8. Add the sliced long chillies and the chopped labuyo and stir them through.
9. Pour in the coconut cream and grind over the black pepper.
10. Simmer for a final 10 to 12 minutes without a lid, until the sauce clings to the pork and clear coconut oil rises to the surface.
11. Taste and add a little more shrimp paste if it needs salt, then serve with rice.