This is the best Kare Kare recipe from all the Kare Kare we have tasted. Maybe somewhere out there, there are better recipes but we have tasted a lot, really a lot! Whenever we travel to the Philippines, we always try several versions. Also, when we dine at Filipino or Asian restaurants anywhere in the world, we look for this. I have cooked this for over 30 years. As a child, my mom exposed me to a lot of delicious food. When I tried something delicious, I make it my goal to match it, if not surpass the taste.
Kare kare is a special dish for the Filipinos. For every special occasion, it's one of the stars of the feast. When you search for most loved Filipino food or Asian recipe, this dish will always be present.
It is a kind of meat stew which traditionally consists of meat (choice of ox tails, ox face, ox or beef tripe, pork hocks, or beef), vegetables (string beans, banana heart/blossom, eggplant, chinese cabbage or bokchoy), peanut sauce made with ground peanuts and/or peanut butter, toasted ground rice, annato powder (for color).
Kare Kare has no taste but has a rich flavor. To add taste, it needs a salty condiment or side. The traditional condiment is the shrimp paste or "bagoong". It can be spicy, sweet or just plain salty. You can buy it from any asian store. It is a fermented very tiny shrimps with a lot of salt. It creates a foul smell (for those who are not accustomed to it), but an enticing smell for those who are used to it.
This video shows how the best Kare Kare is cooked but we focused more on the sauce, which is the core of the dish.
We will post a comprehensive version soon.
Hope you'll cook this dish with us. If you like this video, please hit Like and Subscribe. Hope you join us again soon.
God bless.
INGREDIENTS
FOR BOILING THE MEAT
5-7 lbs meat of choice (ox tail, tripe, pork hocks)
1/2 tbsp annato powder
Water enough to cover the meat (about 5 cups. Adjust later when needed)
7 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 big onion, cut
2 stalks of lemon grass, pressed and
cut
PEANUT SAUCE
2-3 tbsp oil
8-10 cloves garlic minced
1 cup of raw ground peanuts
1 1/2 cup of peanut butter
1 1/2 cup toasted ground rice dissolved
in 2 cups water
2 tbsp annato powder or (1/2 cup annato seeds soaked in 3/4 cup water)
VEGETABLES
1 big eggplant sliced crosswise (pre-boiled for 10 mins)
String beans cut (pre-boiled for 5 mins)
Chinese cabbage blanched(if not available, bokchoy)
Banana heart or blossom sliced (pre-boiled for 5 mins)
CHOICES OF CONDIMENT (NEEDS TO BE SALTY)
Shrimp paste (bagoong)
Fermented fish
Fish sauce
