Kare kare

Ive been craving this food since i seen it to my friend darlene's blog, now im trying tio learn how to cook this 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.


Ingredients :
250 g. of ox tripe
250 g. of ox tail
250 g. of ox leg
1/8 c. of annato seeds
1/2 head of cabbage
1 bunch of pechay (pei tsai or bok choy)
1 bunch of sitaw (long string beans)
1 eggplant1 puso ng saging (heart of banana plant)
1 c. of peanut butter
1/4 c. of rice flour
1 whole garlic, minced
2 onions, diced
5-6 c. of stock
2 tbsp. of cooking oil
salt to taste

How to :

Wash ox tripe, tail and leg well. Place in a large casserole and cover with plenty of water. Bring to a boil, removing scum as it rises. Cover and simmer until tender, about 4 to 6 hours. Transfer meat to a plate, cool and cut into serving pieces. Strain stock and measure 6 cups (you may need less but it’s better to be prepared).

Cut cabbage half into 2 and remove core. Cut off roots and 1/2 inch of stalks of pechay and discard. Cut of roots of sitaw and cut into 2″ lengths. Discard tough outer layers of puso ng saging and cut inner layers into 2″ x 2″ pieces. Cut eggplant into 2″ x 2″ cubes.

Place rice flour in a skillet and toast over medium-high heat until golden. Set aside.

In a casserole, heat oil over medium heat. Add annato seeds and “cook” until they render color and the oil is a bright red. With a slotted spoon, remove annato seeds and discard. Increase heat to medium-high and saute onions and garlic for about 30 seconds. Add meat pieces and cook until they absorb the color or the oil. Pour in 4 cups of stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and add vegetables in the following order with a 2-minute interval : sitaw, eggplant, puso ng saging, cabbage and pechay.

Meanwhile, mix peanut butter with 1/2 c. of stock. Mix roasted rice flour with 1/2 c. of stock. Once the pechay has been added, pour in peanut butter and rice flour mixtures into the casserole. Stir to blend well. Season with salt. Cook for about a 2 minutes until sauce is thick.

Serve hot with bagoong alamang.