The heat is on

Of all the regional Philippine cuisines, Bicolano cooking is perhaps the only one that could be described as homogenously spicy while still extensively using coconut milk, be it in their sauces, viands, vegetables and even desserts. The Bicol region encompasses four southeastern Luzon provinces of Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon, and two island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate. With a total population of several million Bicolanos and counting, speaking diverse tongues and having different customs, they are, however, bound together by their fanatical devotion to their patron saint, the Virgin of Peñafrancia, and their unique indigenous cuisine.

Folklore has it that during the days of Manila-Acapulco galleon trade (1565-1815), when ships passed the historic San Bernardino Strait coming from Mexico, it was in the Bicol area that vessels first did their layovers after the long voyage crossing the Pacific Ocean, before proceeding finally to Manila. These were manned mostly by Mexican crew, and it was through them that fiery cuisine was introduced.

No self-respecting establishment in Bicol worth its coconut, from the humblest turo-turo to any upscale bistro, would be caught dead without its emblematic laing, pinangat and Bicol Express.

On a very recent trip to Camarines Sur and Albay, in the five days I was there, I tried at least a dozen variants of Bicol Express. It comes in so many varieties, just as countless as there are households. Think of it as a cooking technique rather than a singular dish in itself, much like the iconic adobo, sinigang and sisig.

 What’s in a name? A.k.a. gulay na lada

Bicol Express is a dish named after the express train that used to run between Tutuban Station in Manila to the southern terminal at Legazpi City in Albay and back. It is so named because, in its original form (using siling labuyo or bird’s eye chili), it is so fiery hot that it can send one on an express trip to the john.

Urban legend has it that Cely Kalaw — the big-hearted lady from Lipa, Batangas who used to operate The Grove – Luto ng Inay and The Sinigang Bar — first introduced it back in 1970 with a four-table hole-in-the-wall karinderia in a garage of an uncle’s house in Malate, Manila. There, her brother Kuya Itring introduced gulay na lada to the uninitiated Manileños, naming it after the express train from Bicol which they could hear coming and going from their kitchen. The dish literally caught fire in Manila and spread all over the archipelago, so that today, even in the region of its origin, is now popularly called Bicol Express, albeit with so many different versions.

According to Martin “Sonny” Imperial Tinio, Jr., my traveling companion and “guide” on this Bicol trip, the traditional gulay na lada calls for a 2:1 ratio of finger chilies and liempo or pork belly, but can vary greatly according to the household’s social standing (the poorer the household is, the hotter its cooking). It is served as an accompaniment to a fish or meat dish, or as a viand in itself especially if cooked with more meat (think binagoongang baboy or pork cooked with shrimp paste and coconut milk with just a token chili thrown in). It is said that Bicolanos have a more active libido than the average Filipino due to their fondness for chilies. More chilies, anyone?

Some Like It Hot: Bicol Express Recipe

Green finger chilies are used in this recipe (add red for color if available). The seeds and white membrane are discarded before being chopped. Note that nearly all of the heat from chilies is derived from the membrane that holds the seeds in place (that soft, whitish flesh inside the pepper). By removing this membrane and the seeds you will be left with the pepper skin, which can flavor dishes nicely without overpowering them. This version uses charcoal grilled liempo which adds a smoky flavor to the dish. Di lang pangsawsawan, pang-ulam din.

Ingredients:

1 kilo liempo (pork belly), cut into 1/2-inch slices.

4 cups water

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp oil

6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 pcs onion, peeled and chopped

2 thumbs ginger, peeled and Julienned

3 cups fresh bagoong alamang (not bottled), washed and strained to lessen its saltiness (or Bicolano balao if available)

2 stalks tanglad or lemon grass, crushed and chopped finely

500 grams finger chilies, green and red (if available)

2 cups kakang gata

Procedure:  

1. Boil pork slices in 4 cups water. Add 1 tsp salt. Cover pan and cook until fork tender or until water has been reduced by half. Set aside remaining liquid.

2. Grill boiled pork over charcoal pit until almost charred. When cooked, slice into 1/2-inch strips.

3. Slice the chili lengthwise. Using a teaspoon, scrape off the seeds and membrane. Cut diagonally each half into 1/2-inch pieces. If one wishes to further reduce its hotness, soak the sliced chilies in lightly salted water until needed in the cooking. If a more fiery result is desired, skip this procedure and chop chilies with seeds in it.

4. Sauté the garlic and onion till translucent in color, then add the ginger. Add the shrimp paste and lemongrass. Mix well.

5. Add the remaining liquid, kakang gata and grilled pork strips. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent curdling until all the liquid has evaporated. Using a rubber spatula, scrape away any cream that sticks to the sides and bottom of the pan. Add the chilies and mix thoroughly until wilted a bit. Oil from the kakang gata and pork should appear. This can be discarded.

Bicol speak

Balao is salted shrimp fries, very similar to bagoong alamang or fermented shrimp paste. Pinkish in color and only lightly salted, it is one of the basic ingredients of a recado or mixture that go into making gulay. It is also used as sawsawan.

Gata is second-press extraction of grated mature coconut with water added.

Gulay is the generic Bicolano term for anything cooked in gat. Hence, guinulay or ginataan is the process of cooking with gata anything from meat, seafood, vegetable or fruits. (Not to be confused with the Tagalog gulay for vegetable.)

Laing refers to the dried leaves and stems of gabi or taro plant and cooked with gata and balao resulting in a creamy green mush.

Kakang gata is the first-press coconut cream extracted from grated mature coconut.

Natong is whole fresh gabi leaf.

Pinangat is the pouch stuffed with shredded natong, pork, shrimps and kakang gata, flavored with balao, garlic, ginger and chili, then wrapped in a whole natong tied neatly into a rectangular pouches with abaca bark, then simmered in gata with tanglad or lemongrass.

Tinulmok or tilmok is the same as pinangat in essence but is stuffed with young coconut meat (called lucaron in Bicol) and pounded talangka or crablets.

Contrary to popular practice, drinking cold water will not quell a mouth on fire from too much chili. Drink or eat something sweet. Soft drink, candy or ice cream will work best. Have you noticed the presence of white sugar in the condiment trays in most Thai restaurants? This is not to sweeten the dishes but to suppress the heat from chilies.