As I promised in my adobong talong post, here is, although a few days late, my take on kare-kare.
This perennial Filipino favorite usually starts with a base of oxtails, beef stew cuts, pork hocks or tripe. Traditionally, the choice meat is simmered for hours to desired tenderness and and along with a variety of vegetables such as banana heart, long beans and eggplant, it's pulled together into a stew with ground peanuts for flavor, toasted ground rice for thickening and annatto for coloring. Because of the dish's very involved cooking process, it is usually reserved for special occasions but by using convenient rice flour and peanut butter, it is simplified enough to be everyday dinner-friendly. Give this a try, my friends, or browse our recipe index for more delicious meal ideas. Thank you for all your lovely comments. Truly appreciated.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds oxtail cut into serving size
- water
- 1 banana heart
- 2 large eggplant ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch thick
- 1 bundle long beans sitaw, cut into 3-inch lengths
- 1 bundle pechay ends trimmed and leaves separated
- ¼ cup rice flour
- 1-½ tablespoons annatto powder
- 1-½ cups chunky peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 medium onion peeled and sliced thinly
- 4 to 5 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- shrimp paste
Instructions
- Rinse oxtail under cold, running water and with a knife, trim excess fat. In a deep pot, place oxtails and enough water to cover. Over medium heat, bring to a boil, skimming any scum that accumulates to top. Lower heat, cover and simmer, adding more water as needed to maintain 6 cups, for about 2 to 3 hours or until oxtails are easily pierced with a fork. Drain oxtail, reserving about 6 cups broth.
- Peel and discard the outer, fibrous skin layers of banana heart until you reach the lighter, softer core. Trim off stem and discard. Cut banana core into half and into fourths. In a bowl of cold salted water, place cut banana and soak for about 15 to 20 minutes. Using hands, squeeze to release bitter sap. Rinse with cold water and drain well, discarding liquid.
- In a pot over medium heat, bring about 4 cups water to a boil. Add banana heart and blanch for about 1 minute. With a slotted spoon, remove from liquid and set aside. Add eggplant and blanch for about 1 minute. With a slotted spoon, remove from liquid and set aside. Add long beans and blanch for about 1 minute. With a slotted spoon, remove from liquid and set aside. Add pechay and blanch for about 30 seconds. With a slotted spoon, remove from liquid and set aside.
- In a skillet over medium heat, add rice flour and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and toasted. In a bowl, combine toasted rice flour and ¼ cup reserved broth and whisk until smooth.
- In a small bowl, combine annatto powder and ¼ cup reserved broth. Stir until powder is dissolved and color has dispersed.
- In a bowl, combine peanut butter and ½ cup of reserved broth and stir until well-blended.
- In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until limp and aromatic. Add oxtail and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Add fish sauce and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the remaining 5 cups of reserved broth and bring to a simmer. Add annatto water, rice flour mixture and peanut butter mixture, stirring well to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to simmer for about 10 minutes or until it begins to slightly thicken. Add blanched vegetables and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through and tender yet crisp. Serve hot with shrimp paste on the side.
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
denise says
So nice and creamy! Delicious! Thanks for sharing!!!
Sarah says
It’s my first time to make Kare Kare without using an instant mix. I tried to adhere to the recipe as much as I can. My family love this. Will try a better peanut butter brand next time. Thank you for sharing this.
Evelyn fernandez says
Tried this for dinner today. Its good. Just like all the other recipes i've tried. But maybe i should have used the less sweet peanut butter. Can i freeze the left over.
Jes says
Hi what kind of peanut butter po to use? 🙂
Maekayla Eclipse says
I really like this cook and I miss dis cook.
Margaret says
Love it!❤️
seline valeza says
hello, can i use glutenous rice flour ? i cant find plain rice flour or are there any substitute?btw i have been trying your recipes and my husband has been gaining wait since quarantine he’s loving my home-cooking because of your recipes 😊
Lalaine Manalo says
DON"T USE glutinous rice flour! That is sticky rice and would make the dish well, sticky 🙂
Lulu says
I love your version of kare kare, that's how my mom did it when she was still alive and I learned this from her; the toasted rice makes a lot of difference in the taste. your dishes are always great! Keep it up!
jack burton says
We use our Instant Pot pressure cooker to cook the meat the night before. It takes a much shorter time to do so, and the meat comes out perfectly tender. We also get a nice beef broth out of it, which gives the Kare Kare a much beefier flavor than just water. The next day it is as simple as just putting the ingredients together and it's done. The meat can even be done several days ahead.
Bernadette Del Valle says
Amazing recipe!
Thank you for this 🙂
Can't wait to try more of your recipes!
Rose says
OMG!!! My first time to make Kare-Kare and your recipe is so delicious. 😊 I’ll surely will make this again. Thanks for the recipe.
Cecilia says
Hello, Lalaine, I've been subscribing to your recipes for years now. Thank you! I was wondering if you were planning to update some of your recipes with Instant Pot? For example, oxtail can be cooked in Instant Pot a lot faster. I also subscribe to other Filipino groups like Filipino Instant Pot (IP) group. IP seems to be very popular among Pinoys due to the time we save cooking. Thanks again!
Lalaine Manalo says
Working on it 🙂
crystal says
Where can I buy bananas heart, or can the banana heart be substitute for something else.
Vic says
Cooked this recipe this evening and it was a big success,my first ever kare kare from the scratch,didn't use any premixed ingredients,I am so proud I did it,but credit goes to you for posting this recipe and keep posting more. I still have a number of your recipes on my "to do" list,especially Thanksgiving Christmas holidays are just around the corner.
Melanie De Leon says
How long do I cook oxtail if using a crockpot?
Always grateful for your recipes, Melanie
Lalaine Manalo says
I haven't slow cooker for cooking oxtail but I would estimate about 6 to 8 hours to get it sufficiently cooked.