How to cook Kare-Kare ( Filipino Dish )

How to Cook Kare Kare

Let’s talk about how I cooked the version in this recipe post. There are three main processes: tenderize the meat, make the sauce, and prepare the vegetables.

Prepare the meat by boiling it along with chopped onion. This will make it tender while providing flavor at the same time. Oxtail needs to be very tender for best results. It takes around 3 hours to boil when cooking using the traditional method. A quicker way is to use a pressure cooker. It cuts the cooking time by more than half.

The peanut sauce can make or break your dish. It is important to have the proper ratio of ingredients to be able to achieve the ideal consistency of the sauce. It should not be too thick or very thin. I use both peanut butter and crushed peanuts to make the sauce. It provides a rich flavor to it. Annatto seeds make the color of the sauce reddish. You will need to extract the color from the seed by soaking it in warm water for around 12 minutes. The colored water is used to make the dish, not the seed. Discard the seed after use. Thicken the sauce with toasted ground rice.

Vegetable is an important component of kare kare. It can be cooked with the meat or it can be added when serving the dish. I opted to cook the vegetables separately by sautéing with garlic.

Cooking Tips

Use a pressure cooker to quickly tenderize the oxtail. It takes me 30 minutes to achieve the result, compared to around 3 hours when done the traditional way.

Make sure to monitor the amount of water when boiling using the traditional method. Pour more water as needed until the meat tenderizes completely.

Bagoong alamang or shrimp paste is an essential component of the dish. It should be cooked completely before serving. Refer to this bagoong recipe for guidance. You can also purchase precooked bottled bagoong alamang from the supermarket.

Alternative Ingredients

I almost tried every meat in cooking Kare-Kare. Oxtail, pata, cow’s face or maskara, and tripe are my favorites.

Toasted ground rice is traditionally used to thicken the sauce. This ingredient is nice to have. You can use cornstarch or potato starch as alternatives.

Annatto comes in many form. Annatto powder or annatto paste can be used a substitute for the seed. These are also more convenient to use.

Try this Kare Kare recipe and let me know what you think.

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Kare Kare

This is a recipe for Kare-kare or ox tripe stew

 CourseBeef, Main Dish

 CuisineFiipino

 Prep Time10 minutes

 Cook Time2 hours 30 minutes

 Total Time2 hours 40 minutes

 Servings6 people

 Calories934kcal

 AuthorVanjo Merano

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Ingredients

• 3 lbs oxtail cut in 2 inch slices you an also use tripe or beef slices

• 1 piece small banana flower bud sliced

• 1 bundle pechay or bok choy

• 1 bundle string beans cut into 2 inch slices

• 4 pieces eggplants sliced

• 1 cup ground peanuts

• 1/2 cup peanut butter

• 1/2 cup shrimp paste

• 34 Ounces water about 1 Liter

• 1/2 cup annatto seeds soaked in a cup of water

• 1/2 cup toasted ground rice

• 1 tbsp garlic minced

• 1 piece onion chopped

• salt and pepper

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions

• In a large pot, bring the water to a boil

• Put in the oxtail followed by the onions and simmer for 2.5 to 3 hrs or until tender (35 minutes if using a pressure cooker)

• Once the meat is tender, add the ground peanuts, peanut butter, and coloring (water from the annatto seed mixture) and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes

• Add the toasted ground rice and simmer for 5 minutes

• On a separate pan, saute the garlic then add the banana flower, eggplant, and string beans and cook for 5 minutes

• Transfer the cooked vegetables to the large pot (where the rest of the ingredients are)

• Add salt and pepper to taste

• Serve hot with shrimp paste. Enjoy!

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