Pork Liempo Bicol Express

Who loves hot and spicy dishes? Well, you better get ready because we’re bringing you one of Bicol’s bests, Bicol Express Pork Liempo! It’s tender, creamy, and spicy flavor will surely make you and your loved one ask for unli rice! In other words, it’s a dish that will just keep you digging in for more. 

Bicol Express is a well-known Filipino dish having pork, coconut milk, shrimp paste, and chili pepper as its main ingredients. It is generally believed that this dish was adapted from a recipe from Bicol called “gulay na may lada,” which means “vegetable with chili,” but has rather a more complex yet colorful history before it reached popularity. (Read more about it in our previously published recipes: Special Bicol Express. While the most common recipe uses pork as the primary ingredient, over time, several versions have already been created– some using beef or seafood.

What pork cut is best for Bicol Express?

Pork cuts with interchanging layers of meat and fat such as pork belly and pork shoulder are best when cooking Bicol Express. These parts are also the most flavorful and most versatile. 

What are other alternatives for shrimp paste?

You can use fermented shrimp paste or salted small shrimps. Both work well for this kind of dish. There’s also a higher possibility for you to find this at any supermarket.

Cooking Tips 

• When cooking or tenderizing the pork, stir the mixture every 5 minutes to avoid lumps from forming as well as to extract the flavors of other ingredients.
• To cook the best Bicol express, balance its creamy and spicy flavor. Control the amount of coconut milk and chili you add. It should be tantamount to the volume of other ingredients, especially the pork.
• As for the level of spiciness, you can modify the amount of chili you can tolerate. Some of you want viciously hot dishes, so go ahead and put in a large amount of chili! But, if you’re not a fan of spicy food, then just add the average quantity of chili. Again, just the right volume of chili.
• Another tip in toning down the spice, scrape the seeds off the pods prior to
• Want more Bicol Express recipes? Check Chicken Bicol Express and Special Bicol Express.

Getting you hungry, let’s get cooking!

Ready for a full stomach after all the cooking! Now, if you prefer visuals in instructions check out the video below:

If you like this recipe, you may be interested in some of our classic recipes:

• Chicken Adobo Rice
• Kinamatisang Pork Belly
• Talong Burger Steak
• Sotanghon Guisado
• Pork Belly Lechon Kawali

Watch the video below where we walk you through every step of this recipe. Check out our collection of recipes on Youtube, Facebook or on our Instagram.

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