Mentioning Bicol easily conjures mouth-watering images of Bicol Express and laing. Famed for its affinity for dishes with chili and coconut milk, this region at the southern tip of Luzon actually has a lot more going for it than just those two beloved items. Here are a couple more to add to your must-tries the next time you find yourself in any of its provinces.

Bicolano specialties to try

Tinuktok

• It’s a sour soup that’s native to the town of Baao.
• It has seafood meatballs made with crab, fish and/or shrimp.
• The Baaenos use libas leaves or, sometimes, calamansi to achieve the sour notes.

Pinangat

• This is not to be mistaken from the pinangat na isda, which has a sour base made with bilimbi, tamarind, or vinegar.
• The Bicolano version is also called tulmok, tinuktuk, or tinulmok.
• Shredded fish and taro leaves along with a medley of seasonings are wrapped in a whole taro leaf before being boiled in coconut milk.
• Another dish called inolukan has the same process, except that crab and young coconut take the place of fish.

Kinalas

• It’s like mami, noodles in a potent broth—only this time, it has gravy.
• It’s called kinalas because a beef head is boiled for hours until the meat falls off or “kumalas”.
• The toppings vary from boiled eggs to chicharon, finished with calamansi to add acid to the rich dish.

Tinutungan na manok

• It’s native chicken stewed in smoked coconut milk.
• Sometimes vinegar is added, along with raw papaya and moringa.
• There are some recipes that also throw in chicken blood in the mix.

Kinunot

• It’s fish cooked in two of the items Bicol is known for: coconut milk and chili.
• Typically, shark meat or stingray meat is used. Malunggay leaves are also added.
• Kinunot means “hinimay” or flaked.

Sinantolan

• It also goes by the names ginataang santol or gulay na santol.
• The flesh of the cotton fruit or santol is grated before cooked in coconut milk, seafood, or pork and a bunch of seasonings, including shrimp paste.

Sinapot

• It’s similar to maruya, or battered and fried saba bananas.
• Typically, the banana is sliced, but not all the way through, to create a fan.
• It is then dipped in a light batter then fried to a golden brown.
• Some locals eat it with bagging or shrimp paste.

Biniribid

• It is similar to a pilipit, a traditional Filipino deep-fried twisted doughnut.
• It is deep-fried twisted dough made from rice flour and coconut milk then thickly glazed with caramelised sugar.