Filipinos Loves to Eat Kare-kare

November 11, 2008 · Posted in Philippine Recipes

Kare-kare is a Filipino stew with a rich nutty sauce and served with a variety of vegetables, stewed oxtail, beef, and occasionally offal or tripe. Meat variants may include goat meat or chicken. It is often eaten with bagoong (shrimp paste), sometimes spiced with chili, and sprinkled with calamansi juice. Traditionally, any Filipino fiesta particularly in the Tagalog region is not complete without kare-kare. In some Filipino-American versions of the dish, oxtail is exclusively used as the meat.

This dish originates from the curry eating Indians and Mexicans during the barter and galleon trades which the Filipinos further innovated during the Spanish era as a fiesta food. Kare-kare also remains a popular dish in the Philippines and said that the name comes from a corruption of the word “curry”. The combination of a beef, tripe, and vegetable stew cooked in peanut sauce and served with the pungent fermented shrimp paste (kare-kare) that is considered as an integral part of the dish (bagoong is always served with kare-kare), must seem particularly bizarre to non-Filipinos; yet it is one of the ultimate comfort foods for Filipinos worldwide, and is a perennial family favorite in both local and overseas Filipino households.

Ingredients:

1 kilo oxtail or beef
10 pcs string beans, cut into 2 inches lengths
2 stems of chinese spinach, cut
3 asian aubergine, cut into pieces
1 puso ng saging or banana blossom, cut into big pieces
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 cup achute seed or atsuete soaked and squeezed in water
1 big onion, chopped
1 cup rice
1 cup ground peanuts or peanut butter
Salt and pepper

Procedures:

Boil oxtail or beef in water with a little salt for 1 1/2 hours or 2. Meanwhile, roast rice until golden brown. Process it in food processor. Just heat the oil in a wok or large pan, sautee garlic and onion. Add in banana blossom and a cup of achute seed water. Boil then add aubergine, chinese spinach, and string beans. Stir in roasted peanuts or peanut butter and rice. Finally add tenderized oxtail or beef. Pour in 3 more cups of water, boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Season and serve with bagoong or fermented shrimp paste.

Comments

4 Responses to “Filipinos Loves to Eat Kare-kare”

tanyaregala on June 24th, 2010 3:45 am

Hi!

Your kare kare looks really delicious!

I’m collecting a list of the best kare kare recipes in my blog, and I included your kare kare recipe (just a link though, hope you don’t mind). You can see it at
http://kumain.com/kare-kare-2/

Keep in touch!
Matt Kay on September 25th, 2010 12:33 am

I just learned about this dish on another site. It looks great. I’m not experienced with Filipino cooking but I’ve eaten foods that included peanut butter in this way and I love the richness that it adds.

Oxtail is also considered to be unusual for most Americans but I love it. I use it frequently in pots of Italian tomato sauce or stew. It has a hearty flavor that you don’t get with leaner boneless cuts of meat.
ilovecheapcalls on August 19th, 2011 1:47 pm

Kare Kare – i just love this dish. And, looks like you cook a really mean version of it. yum!
freecallsphilippines on September 15th, 2011 10:52 am

the Kare kare looks GREAT.