How To Cook The Best Kare Kare

[masternikki]

Only Bagoong determines if Kare2x is delicious or not

[Mr. Zygote]

alam ko ox tail buntot ng baka, bkit napunta sa bituka

[ken_ji_75]

those kare kare mix are dreadful to the taste bud and does not look very appealling. Unsalted/unsweetened peanut butter works well.

[bgates1]

used ox tail at saka yung muka ng baka... instead of twalya, if you want odorless twalya, rubbed it off with a lot of rock salts and baking soda for 5x at banlian mo ng kumukulong water...

[POPPSY]

KARE-KARE

 

 

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 really 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.

 

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 eggplant

 

1 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 it with salt. Cook for about a 2 minutes until sauce is thick.

 

 

 

Serve hot with bagoong alamang.

 

 

[superseeker]

Speaking of kare-kare... paano tanggalin ang amoy ng twalya?

 

Eto kasi ginawa ko, according to a recipe: Nilinisan ko (w/ a toothbtush) yung twalya, pinakuluan for 5 minutes, tapos palit ng tubig, tapos pinalambot ko na. Pero may konting amoy pa rin e, parang yung mga twalya na ginagamit sa goto. Pero yung mga kare-kare at callos sa restaurants, wala ng trace ng amoy.

 

Try mo kikisin ng tawas. Nung may lugawan pa ang mga lola ko kahit bituka ng baboy tangal ang amoy pag kiniskis ng tawas.

[superseeker]

Only Bagoong determines if Kare2x is delicious or not

 

 

Try mo patis ok din with Kare Kare. Kelangan kasi maalat talaga ung sawsawan.

 

 

[Angas ng Tondo]

use the real peanuts or mani and not the artificial palaman na peanut butter

[c1aw]

Para sa twalya, after washing and removing loose matters, pinapakulan ko in 5-10 minutes. Then papalamigin para mascrape-off ko yung membrane ng twalya w/ a knife and off for a final wash bago pakuluan ulit para palambutin.

 

Use lots of ground roasted peanuts. I prefer ung maliit na peanuts. Mas flavorful compared sa imported (china/taiwan?!?).

[sOin2you]

If you're using Beef, yung pinagkuluan nyo, dun na rin iluto yung veggies pati yungix ng peanut and bigas. Hanguin nyo muna yung beef if masyadong malambot para di madurog. That way hindi masayang and concentrated yung taste.

[Cathy Kitty]

basta dapat masarap din ang timplada ng bagoong. at hindi tinipid sa mani

[Hassan Jamaal]

Masarap din yung may peanut butter pero wag yung masyadong matamis.

 

Sa peanut butter kasi, lumabas na kung pinaka PEANUT OIL niya kaya nakakpag pasarap talaga. Especially good if you harvest the peanut oil from the top of the jar.

 

Buntot pa rin the best.

 

Annato is underrated, sabi ng marami kulay lang daw pero di nila napapansin may sarili ring nutty flavor ang annato oil/water.

 

And please wag naman yung alamang na ginawang kendi o mala tocino sa tamis. Masarap kung nalasahan ng baboy yung bagoong, yung kumatas na yung mantika ng baboy na pinansahog.

[iggy112]

Try Cafe Juanita. Really excellent kare kare. My view:

 

Ox tail over tripe

Good kare kare is good even without the bagoong (but better with it)

[Orgasm Donor]

[Orgasm Donor]

don't use peanut butter.... it's sweet.

 

don't use instant mix... it's not real

 

don't grind peanut... still large bits will come

 

 

 

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