Rookie Pan
← All recipes
Philippines, Asia · Bicol Express

Bicol Express Dynamite Chilli Rolls with Coconut-Lime Dip

Long green chillies stuffed with coconut and shrimp-paste pork and cheese, wrapped in spring roll pastry and fried crisp: a Filipino beer snack.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time42 min
DifficultyMedium
About servingsTake care with hot oil: turn pan handles inwards and, if the oil catches fire, never use water; cover with a lid and turn off the heat. Make sure the pork filling is fully cooked.

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a 22 cm pan on medium-high heat, add the pork and fry for , breaking it up with a spatula, until no pink remains and it is lightly browned.

    Add in this stepVegetable oil 1 tbspMinced pork 160 g

    medium-high heat

  2. Add the minced garlic and bagoong and fry for 30 seconds, then pour in most of the coconut milk and cook on medium heat for , stirring, until there is no liquid left and the mixture is moist and clumping. Spread it on a plate and cool for . Leftover liquid makes the wrappers burst in the oil.

    Add in this stepGarlic cloves 2Bagoong alamang (ready-to-eat sautéed shrimp paste) 1 tspCoconut milk 112 ml

    medium heat

  3. Wearing gloves, slit each chilli lengthwise along one side and scrape out the seeds and membrane with a small spoon. Cut the cheese into 1 cm sticks the length of the chillies. Fill each chilli with the cooled pork, push in a cheese stick and press it closed.

    Add in this stepLong mild green chillies (Anaheim, banana pepper or similar, 10–12 cm) 8Block cheddar 60 g

  4. Lay a wrapper like a diamond and put a chilli near the bottom corner with the stem poking out a little. Roll once, fold the bottom up and roll up tightly, then seal the end with a dab of water. Roll tightly so no air is trapped; trapped air makes the oil spit.

    Add in this stepSpring roll wrappers (20 cm squares) 8

  5. Pour at least 4 cm of oil into a deep 18 cm pot and heat on medium heat for to 170 °C. Without a thermometer, a wooden chopstick dipped in should give off a steady stream of small bubbles. Never fill the pot more than a third full, and keep water away from the oil.

    Add in this stepOil for deep-frying 600 ml

    medium heat

  6. Fry the rolls in 2 batch(es) so they don't touch, keeping the heat at medium heat, for , turning, until golden and crisp all over. Drain on a rack or kitchen paper. Crowding the pot drops the oil temperature and makes them greasy.

    medium heat

  7. Mix the mayonnaise with the rest of the coconut milk, a little lime zest and the lime juice for the dip. The cheese inside is very hot, so let the rolls cool for 2–3 minutes, then cut them in half on the diagonal and serve with the dip.

    Add in this stepMayonnaise 3 tbspCoconut milk 48 mlLime ½

Cook's tip

If you're worried about heat, remove the seeds and white membrane thoroughly. Make the filling the day before and chill it; it's easier to stuff cold. For an air fryer, brush the rolls with oil and cook at 200 °C for 10–12 minutes, turning once.

Cooking it at camp

At the campsite, instead of a deep pot of oil, shallow-fry in about 1 cm of oil in a cast-iron pan, turning the rolls. Wind cools the oil, so use a windshield and keep children well away. Roll them at home and bring them chilled.