Prepare the gata by combining ¾ cup lukewarm water and Knorr Ginataang Gulay mix. Add the sliced chilies and continue cooking until chilies are soft and sauce is thickened. Required fields are marked *. Please visit this blog often and bookmark. He married my mother, Milagros Estrada, who is from Iriga City, Camarines Sur. It was not Cecilia Kalaw who first served the concoction. The information in the article about the origin of Bicol Express might be true, or not. In several interviews, she told that some of their customers complain about their “laing” entrée dish as being too spicy. Bicol Express is a popular Filipino dish in which the slices of pork meat is cooked with coconut milk, shrimp paste, and chili pepper. Fatty pork cuts such as pork belly … Your email address will not be published. It is noteworthy that there is a similar local dish to Bicol Express called gulay na lada which Micky Fenix in an Inquirer article said Kalaw based her recipe on. It’s very tempting to assume that Bicol Express originated from Bicol, a region located in the southernmost tip of Luzon in the island of Philippines, because the ‘first name’ of the dish was named after the place. It was invented by a restaurant owner named Cecilia “Tita Cely” Villanueva Kalaw who was a native from Laguna. Cely Kalaw, owner of The Grove – Luto ng Inay, the restaurant that first served this fiery concoction, is actually from Los Baños. She created a magical dish and they named it Bicol Express, named after the name of a train that passes their house which travels from Manila to Bicol and vice versa. It has been taken for granted that the dish Bicol express originated in Bicol and is an indigenous recipe from that region. Serve Hot. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Instagram (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window). It is made up of pork (you can use sirloin or liempo cut into cubes) coconut milk or “gata”, green chili (siling pansigang), shrimp paste or bagoong alamang and some aromatics like onion, garlic, and ginger. However, if you do not have long chili pepper in your area, for practical reason, Thai chillies, Jalapeño pepper, Serrano pepper, Anahiem chili as well as Korean pepper can be used as substitute. Anti-Spam Quiz: Which is colder, ice or steam? That was an eye opener. Thanks for visiting. Stir. What do you think? Add the pork and then continue cooking for 5 to 7 minutes or until the color becomes light brown. Add the sliced chilies and continue cooking until chilies are soft and sauce is thickened. We all know that Bicolano dishes are delicious and pretty looking so there is a big possibility that this dish really originated from the Bicol region.