Kare-kare
Print This Post
A rich stew of ox tail, leg or tripe and a variety of vegetables in a sauce flavored and thickened with roasted ground peanuts (peanut butter is just as good!) and toasted rice flour.
Another way to prepare kare-kare is to cook the vegetables separately in a small amount of water. Place cooked vegetables in the serving bowl and pour over the meat and the sauce. This will give you better control over the texture of the vegetables to prevent overcooking them.
Traditionally, as in during my grandparents’ time, kare-kare was cooked with freshly ground roasted peanuts and rice. Well, there’s nothing like cooking it that way, but I find the procedure too much for today’s busy lifestyle. The easiest option is, of course, to get one of those ready mixes that are abundant in supermarkets. I’ve tried a couple brands. The problem was I didn’t have much control over the taste of the cooked kare-kare. The mix determined the final thickness, flavor and color of the dish. If you’re as particular as I am, well, you look for another option.
So, one time I bought “peanut butter” from the wet market. This “peanut butter” is coarser than the bottled variety and unsweetened. It is not made for sandwiches but is sold particularly for cooking kare-kare. Well, the grains were pretty obvious in the sauce and I didn’t like that either.
It was so frustrating that I actually stopped cooking kare-kare for more than a year. Until one day when my mother-in-law asked if we wanted a huge jar of peanut butter that she didn’t know what to do with. My husband, who’s a real peanut butter fan, gladly accepted. The jar was so huge (2 k.) that after a few weeks, it was just sitting, forgotten, way inside the refrigerator. Now this was sandwich peanut butter. Sweet and smooth. I debated for a while then decided to use it for kare-kare. Guess what? I finally found the perfect peanut butter for my kare-kare. The slightly sweet flavor of the sauce was reaallllyyy great!
As to the ground roasted rice, well, I don’t particularly feel like grinding rice with a mortar and pestle. I have a supply of rice flour in the pantry (for cooking puto or rice cakes). I toasted half a quarter of a cup in the skillet, mixed it with stock and it did the trick–color, thickness, flavor. I’ve been using this little trick for a long time now.
Finally, about bagoong alamang. What is it? Bagoong alamang is a paste of salted and fermented shrimp fingerlings. I guess it’s an acquired taste. Personally, I find the smell and flavor too strong. And I am allergic to it along with other crustaceans–shrimps, lobsters, crabs, prawns… Plus, it is very high in cholesterol and sodium content. I don’t touch the stuff. Does that mean I can’t enjoy my kare-kare? Wrrrooonnnggg! I season my kare-kare so that no additional salty sauce on the side is necessary. My kids grew up without bagoong alamang, although they enjoy their shrimps, prawns, lobsters and prawns.
Bookmark at:StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Newsvine | Spurl | Furl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb
Except for personal use, or as legitimate RSS feeds with link back to this page, NO PART OF THIS ENTRY MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY MANNER, whether individually or as part of a collection, without the owner's PRIOR written permission. This blog is a FREE service. Help maintain it by respecting the author's copyright.
Some entries have multiple pages. Most recipes are on page 2; others, on page 3 or 4. Click on the pagination links to view them.
Some entries DO NOT contain recipes.
Sorry, I don't e-mail recipes. However, you may opt to receive a weekly summary of recent Pinoy Cook food articles and recipes by using the form below.
Comments
50 Responses to “Kare-kare”
Leave a Reply
Hi!
I was led to your site by a friend of mine recommended I try your Bistek recipe. It continues to be a hit everytime I serve it - last time being Noche Buena.
Now, am writing because am supposed to host dinner for a few friends. Am sure I want to do Kare Kare. I would like to know what other dish I should cook to complement Kare Kare or provide a good contrast to it.
Thanks.
Omar, how about grilled hito and cucumber salad?
Cool! Thanks!
I can just imagine how fab this dinner will be.
Thank you.
You’re welcome.
hi Connie! what brand of peanut butter did u use? i’m gonna attempt my first ever Kare-Kare with ur recipe, and i don’t really want to fail because of bad peanut butter hehehe!
I’m not particular with the brand, geWi. Even the cheap ones work so long as the proportions are right. Just keep tasting the sauce as you add peanut butter.
Hi! You’re recipes are interesting. I find them useful to my everyday research on food styles. Thanks!
i will try to follow the kare kare recipe as my husband loves it. my question is, where can i buy the rice flour? what is it in filipino? if i cant find it, what the alternative? thanks
you’re welcome, m. forrest.
gg, toast 1/2 c. of uncooked rice (bigas) in a pan. Cool then ground to a powder (in a blender or food processor). Then use that. More authentic.
I only use rice flour to save time and effort. 
Ay naku! I have not had this dish in such a long time. My lola use to cook kare-kare alot. She used to add beef tripe, beef honeycomb and lots of sili too.
i love kare - kare its just i dont know how to cook it.
Hi Connie,
You cook kare-kare a little bit differently as mine. I will try your recipe.
btw, I will post this link to my previous blog: http://leahmumfordlang.blogspot.com/2006/07/whats-for-dinner.html
the old link had an error.
Thanks in advance
connie
hi. can we have alternatives from oxtail preparing kare-kare
my partner is ecuadorian and oxtail is a big no-no
Regards, Leah.
Delbert, ox tripe, ox face and ox legs (pata) are popular choices for kare-kare.
pede po ba mag request ng exact recipe copy ng pag luto ng kare kare para mas madali sundan…salamat
joel, pwede bang i-click mo yung link sa page 2 para makita mo yung exact recipe.
hi connie,i want to ask you lang kung ano yung ANATO SEEDS???thanks!!
cha-cha, atsuwete.
i love it you i can’t recipes of kare-kare i love it ………………………………………………………………………………………………..
I love Kre kare. My favorite food besides lechon. Kaya mataas ang cholesterol ko dahil sa kare kare eh!
Thank You!
Finally i can try to cook my husband’s favorite…
[...] including a whole lechon (roasted suckling pig), roasted perfectly with crispy, paper-thin skin; kare-kare (oxtail stewed in peanut sauce), served with salty bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) and slices of [...]
Halu philippines Halu world!:oops:
Hey i wanna thank you for your website and now i can be able to try to cook for my husband something different.Thanks and more power…God bless
finally, a filipino recipe website that is well thought of. thanks, connie
most pinoy websites are poorly worded, displaying typical pinoy mediocrity…i hate to be another pinoy saying it but it’s true. so yup, i had to let you know that your site is really good, showing concern for the readers by giving exact measurements, time intervals, etc. oh, and the recipes are good and innovative too. all the best to you!
thank you.
[...] with it… unripe mangoes, steamed leafy vegetables, grilled or steamed eggplants, fried fish, kare-kare, pinakbet, even nilaga and sinigang. The list goes on I am very sure of that depending on which [...]
thanks for this delicious kare kare recipe, my wife just went crazy about it telling friends.more power!
[...] eyes do… lunch time was like another feast, served with Filipino dishes from bulalo to adobo, kare-kare, grilled fish, ensalada and pancit canton, green mango dipped in bagoong and lots of fruits. Well [...]
hi connie, to be honest, i have been ur avid fan for almost 3 yrs now. I started searching for recipe when i was in Iraq, yes I was in Iraq for 3 yrs and presently in Qatar for over a year now. I was an assistant camp manager in Iraq before and taking care of the restaurant and the accommodation for our 91 clients. Mostly americans, british, irish and Indians. we were just 3 Filipinos there. Every weekend we were having a special night like mexican night, hawaiian bbq night, arabian night and lot more. One day, they asked me to prepare filipino dishes for Filipino night and I couldnt find a recipe though I can cook. I went to my computer and email my mom but seems its hard to estimate the quantity of spices and meat for 91 guests. so i browsed in the internet and i found your website. I cooked kare kare, chicken adobo and pansit. it was a hit and was surprised that they all love our food. I got an applause from them after the dinner. Since then, i regularly check ur web and tried most of your recipe. the only sad thing in middle east is that we dont have pork. but i really like your article about your food hunting as it gives me idea where to go when i go home for vacation soon. thanks a lot and keep up the good work. more good places and good food to look forward to.
Hi Ana. You said, “it was a hit and was surprised that they all love our food. I got an applause from them after the dinner.”
Josme, nakaka-touch siguro, ano, when they showed their appreciation? See, we just need to introduce foreigners to our food… Kainis yung mga Pinoy na nagsasabing wala kwenta food natin.
yah, i was touched and was happy that they like our food. after that, i tried the siopao and i got it right first time i tried it. and when we had our karaoke night in our bar in time for the farewell party of one of our colleagues who were relocated to another country, i made a mini siopao with the italian sausage as the filling. it was a hit again and the spring roll.
Im proud of our food bec even here in Qatar, im so amazed how foreigners knows our adobo, pansit and even the sinigang na baka at hipon. and they love it.
Great recipe! I tried cooking this one, and all they can say is - DELICIOUS! Matagal na akong nag hahanap ng recipe ng kare-kare na kugn saan pareho talga sya sa mga natikaman ko sa mga restaurants, only Ms. Connie’s recipe pala can answer…thanks!
[...] He said yes and I almost dance with joy! I googled recipes online; settled with those from Connie and the Marketman. I was particularly inspired by Connie’s as she doesn’t use bagoong at all. [...]
hi im bujoy i love to cook… as i searches the web i saw this site and its really cool… i havnt tried this kare-kare so its a challenge for me to try this recipe! i have to go now coz ill buy some ingredient for this! i know my family will love it… ill let you know how it goes… hehehe!
hi im jean ilove to cook even im not dat good dats why im here to learn and iknow my husband goin to love it!!
hi,
it’s my birthday on the 30th ds month, and my family requested for a special kare-kare. I think they will love this one.. I’ll get back to you for their reactions..tnx.
Hi,
I cooked kare kare last night and what a frustation it was to find that I have no recipe for it at home.arrgh!I had half the mind to go out and find internet connection so I can find this. By then it was almost dinnertime, so I didn’t. My mistake was I added tomatoes and I added the peanut butter before the veggies, kaya pala ang tagal nilang maluto.
With this recipe safely in my notebook, I’ll definitely cook kare kare with more confidence next time.
Thanks, Ms. Connie.
kare2 is one of my specialty,,, my unica iha, my friends and relatives is always requesting me to cook this kind of menu…a tail of cow, with creamy peanut butter. Yummy daw pag buntot ng baka ang karne ng kare2.
hi ate i have question…. ano po ba ung ox?tmy iba pba kauong recipe lyk pochero etc… thank u and more power… godbless..
anne, if you could spell your words properly, I might be able to understand your question and give you a clear answer.
[...] great Asian supermarket in Foster City, where self ended up purchasing: a package of ox-tails for kare-kare ($12!! Isn’t that, like, so expensive for something considered to be a cheaper cut of meat?), [...]
hi connie,
i just want to ask, have you ever tried seafood kare-kare? i know how to cook the traditional kare-kare and my husband loves it! but it’s lenten season now and he is requesting for the seafood version. how is it different from the usual? do i need to use ginger or something? thanks. would love to hear from you soon.
oh by the way, it’s my first time to visit your site and i find it very interesting for you did not only feature traditional filipino recipes but have added some twist on it as well. will be trying some of it real soon.
eireen, sorry, never tried seafood kare-kare. I can’t imagine how the seafood won’t turn soggy unless they are cooked separately.
regarding sea food kare-kare:
I have tried several different versions of sea food kare-kare, all versions require that some if not all the sea foods be cooked separately.
One simple version uses tilapia or boneless bangus fillet both of which are pre-fried before adding to the traditional peanut sauce just before serving.
One of my favorite versions uses squid, fish fillet shrimp and mussles. All the sea foods except for the mussles were first pre-fried with a thin coating of batter before adding to the sauce.
May everybody have a blessed lenten season!!!
thanks for this delicious kare kare recipe!
More power!!!
God Bless!!!
Hi Connie,
Everytime i crave for filipino food and want to cook it with some guidance (ratio and proportion of ingredients), i always visit your website. You are very thorough, you know what you’re talking about and you are innovative. My husband is american, he likes most filipino food like sinigang (he always mispronounces it and calls it chinigang), bistek, mechado, adobo, kinda…but believe it or not, he loooooves BAGOONG! He eats it with almost anything, even Doritos. And he likes them home cooked, not the bottled ones you buy in stores. I love your recipes and the different takes you come up with to make use of what is available and using substitutes if one ingredient is not very desirable to you. PLUS, and this is a BIG PLUS…i think you are the only Filipino with a food website that is very detailed and thorough. Most filipino food websites are either incomplete, and copied from each other, are not well-thought out and sorry to say, i am proud of my heritage, but typical filipino, they are made half-ass (sorry for the crude term), just like some producst we make, there is no quality control. All i can say is you stand out and so, more power to you, your family and keep up the good work.
Hi Katrina. Your hubby sounds like a very open-minded food adventurer. Most whites balk at the kind of food we eat. You should read one of the comments in a fish head soup recipe I have in the archive LOL
Thanks for the vote of confidence. I know exactly what you mean by half-ass websites (blogs included), the product of the “pwede na” mentality. Most websites owners don’t care about quality so long as they can insert the proper keywords to enable them to make money with Adsense.
what are annato seeds? cuz my mom’s coming home tonight, and the only thing left in the fridge to cook is the pig tails. Which type of peanut butter best advised to be used?
annato = atsuwete
you need ox tail, not pig tail.
what type of peanut butter = it’s in the entry