Spicy Bicol Cuisine

“Spicy Bicol Cuisine”

Bicolano cuisine is primarily noted for the use of chili pepper and gata (coconut milk) in its food. The region deserves its reputation to be called as “Spicy Bicol”, where cooking dishes with no sili is not cooking at all.

What makes the Bicolano dishes truly unique in the islands, it’s because of the two main ingredients, gata and silinglabuyo, that provide its distinct flavors. The smell of the dishes will definitely captures the aroma for the brain neurons, identifying the dish as the “best one” and the taste will certainly makes it one of a kind that satisfies an empty stomach.

The highly recommend Bicolano dishes are:

Laing: Taro leaves cooked in coconut milk

Laing is one of the favorite Bicolano dish made of gabi/taro leaves cooked in coconut milk. Its sahog varies from fish, meat, crabmeat/tinapa.

Trivia:

Don’t you know that taro leaves are water proof? So, the alternative way to clean the leaves is wiping them carefully with a paper towel to get rid of the dirt. Also, another tip is to peel off a part of the fibrous stem to avoid itchy with your taste buds. 

Cooking procedure:

·      Boil the 2^nd extracted coconut milk in a pan

·      Mix the onion, garlic, ginger, dried fish, pork fat and shredded taro leaves

·      Simmer until boiled

·      Add salt and vetsin according to taste

·      Add the 1^st coconut extract

·       Simmer until cooked to achieve an oily texture; you will    to have two extracted coconut milk with the 2^nd batch poured in the dish.

Pinangat: layered taro leaves cooked in coconut milk

Pinangat which we get from a lady who goes around the neighborhood carrying the pinangat in a rattan basket with banana leaves. It is another staple food for our dinner.

Pinangat comes in two varieties, one of which is just pure layers of Gabi leave while the other spices. Both varieties are available hot or plain. It is traditionally that the non-spicy ones are for the young member of households and the spicy is for the adult.

Surprisingly, the two bicolano dishes which inspired some bicolano to make a unique kind of pizza made of pinangat/Laing with pineapple chunks, mushroom, and mozzarella. It doesn’tsound good but by the time you will try the food, you will definitely enjoy it because it has good taste.

Ginataangkuhol (snails cooked in coconut milk)

Kuhol/snail was considered parasites by farmers for their ability to reproduce rapidly and destroying crops, the golden kuhol is now considered one of the finest delicacies in the Philippines.

Trivia:

Though. The golden kuhol were treated as pests by the farmers, it is rich in protein and energy giving fat which the shell contains calcium, phosphorous, vitamins and minerals which can be recycled as animal feed.

Cooking procedure:

·      Heat the cooking oil in a pan; sauté the onion, garlic, ginger and kuhol

·      Pour in coconut milk; let simmer for a while

·      Wait until it boils then add spices

·      Put the kangkong and sili; simmer until cooked

Bicol Express

Bicol Express is the no. 1 favorite dish of Bicolano. Its level on the spicy scale shows that bicolano love for spicy dishes.

Trivia:

Bicol express was popularized by CelyKalaw, a native of Laguna and owner of a restaurant in Malate, Manila. Kalaw’s family moved to Naga when she was 3 years old. When she grew up and returned to Manila. She invented the dish that became known as Bicol express named after the train that travels from Paco station to Bicolano and now a mainstay in Bicolano cuisine. (Source: Wikipedia.org)

Cooking Procedure:

·      Pour the coconut milk into the pan

·      Put the garlic, onion, ginger, bagoongalamang, pork, kamias and chilis

·      Simmer until the pork is ender then add spices

·      Continue to simmer until the pork is fully cooked

These dishes are pure comfort food and I assure that you will ask for more rice and forget the meaning of ’diet’ if you try it.

KHRYZ ALLYNE VALENZUELA