Different protein, same spicy coconut stew. This Bicol Express makes use of chicken and sigarilyas (winged beans) for a variation that's just as easy to make.
While Bicol Express is traditionally made with pork, its rich, chili-flecked coconut gravy goes great with most proteins. This recipe uses boneless chicken thighs for a quick-cooking yet flavorful variation.
Bicol Express is a spicy Filipino stew made with two signature ingredients of Bicol cuisine: fiery-hot chilies and creamy coconut milk. Cely Kalaw, who is widely credited for inventing and popularizing the dish, named it after the old railway connecting Manila and Albay.
Sigarilyas or winged beans feel right at home in Bicol Express. After all, they're the star ingredient of another spicy coconut-based dish: gising-gising. Add them at the last step to avoid overcooking—the crisp beans adds a delightful contrast to the tender chicken.
Prepare chicken: Slice chicken thigh fillets into ¼-inch thick pieces. Set aside.
Cook chicken: Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add red onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until aromatics are fragrant. Add chicken and cook until pieces are white and heated through.
Add shrimp paste: Using a spoon or clean hands, squeeze the shrimp paste to drain it of its brine. Add drained paste and chilies to the pan, then cook for 1–2 minutes.
Add coconut cream and finish: Pour coconut cream into the pan. Reduce heat until simmering and let cook, stirring from time to time, until meat is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir sigarilyas into the mixture and cook until tender, 3–4 minutes. Transfer to a shallow bowl and serve with hot rice.
Yes you can! The switch won't affect the flavor, but because coconut milk is thinner than cream, you'll get a more runny consistency in your final dish.
We don't recommend using powdered coconut cream. Its flavor tends to be sweet and artificial, which works alright for sweet applications but not so much for savory dishes.
It's also difficult to get the right consistency and flavor out of powdered cream. Save yourself the trouble and go for the canned stuff. You can also make DIY cream from fresh coconut milk, if you prefer.
Of course! We highly recommend it. Fresh coconut cream works very well in coconut-forward dishes like this one. You'll taste an all-natural, coconut-y sweetness in your sinilihan—nothing too overpowering or artificial-tasting.
To make it, you need:
To make fresh coconut cream: Place grated coconut in a large bowl. Add enough warm water to moisten the coconut meat. Using both hands, squeeze meat to extract the coconut cream. Pass coconut cream through a sieve or cheesecloth to remove stray pulp. Use cream as directed, or store in the fridge in an airtight container for 2–3 days.
Use sitaw (long beans) chopped into 2-inch pieces. Add them at the last step and cook until no longer rubbery.
If you want it spicier, add more siling labuyo (red chilies). Make sure to add the seeds—that's where most of the spiciness comes from.
If you want it less spicy, you can either remove the seeds from the chilies, reduce the amount of siling labuyo, or both. Or you can try using just siling haba, which is less spicy than siling labuyo.
