Kare Kare with Shrimp Paste dipping sauce
Stir-Fried Vegetables and Steamed Rice
Yum. I couldn’t wait to make this dish for the first time. I decided to cook Kare Kare from as close to the slow, but traditional, methods as I could to learn more about how the dish is made and realized that several of it’s ingredients are recipes within a recipe. Wow, my dear ancestors… why, where, when, and how did you all come up with this recipe?
I called friends and family and took a lot of notes. Mom told me to use ground rice and not to add salt (I did anyway… hehe rebel.), Tita Ethel mentioned adding onion to the beef broth, and her son in law Cesar suggested to use ground roasted peanuts along with peanut butter.
I wanted to replicate as much as possible how Kare Kare was made in the olden times which means I had to make peanut butter from scratch, however, I drew the line at making my own rice flour and bought it at the store instead. Lucky decision! My cheap mini-chopper of 4 years decided that it had had enough in the middle of making peanut butter.
Yep…my ancestors are laughing….
I did say I wanted to try and slow cook Kare Kare and make it from scratch right?
Hello… mortar and pestle!
Tips:
- Ground Rice is used to thicken the stew
- Roasting rice flour is optional
- Peanuts and Rice can be roasted at the same time but on different baking pans/sheets
- Vegetables can be cooked in the stew instead of stir-fried and served on the side
- Annatto Seed extract is used to add a red-orange color to the stew
- Dipping Sauce for Kare Kare: Sautéed Shrimp Paste or Bagoong
- Sautéed Shrimp Paste or Bagoong (“Bahg-oh-ong”) is sold in asian stores
The flavor from the homemade roasted peanut paste was more robust and better than store bought peanut butter. If you have the time, it is worth it since you can roast the peanuts to a medium brown color for a deeper flavor.
Kare Kare is sevred with a side of Sautéed Vegetables
Annato Seed Extract
Peanuts and Rice Flour Before Roasting in Oven
Peanuts and Rice Flour after Roasting in Oven
Kare Kare or Oxtail Stew in Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
Kare Kare
- 4 oxtails
- 1 lb beef stew meat
- 1/2 medium sized onion cut in half
- Water
- 1 tsp salt
- 6-8 tablespoons homemade Roasted Peanut Paste instructions below
- or unsweetened and unsalted Peanut Butter
- Annatto Seed extract from broth instructions below
- 6 tablespoons Roasted Rice Flour or Plain Rice Flour diluted in 1/4 cup water instructions below
Homemade Peanut Butter/Paste
- 2 cups peanuts
- 1 baking pan/cookie sheet
Toasted Rice Flour
- 1 cup finely ground rice flour
- 1 baking pan/cookie sheet
Annatto Seed Extract:
- 10 tsp annato seeds
Instructions
Kare Kare
- Place salt, onion, oxtail, and beef stew meat in a large pot
- Add enough water to barely cover oxtail and meat
- Bring to a boil for about 3 minutes
- Skim top and discard scum
- Simmer to medium low heat for 2 hours
- Add 6 tablespoons Roasted Peanut Paste/Butter, mix until dissolved, add more as preferred
- Add Annatto Seed extract (strained, no seeds)
- Gradually add diluted rice flour, mix often until thickened
- Serve with shrimp paste dipping sauce and steamed rice
Homemade Peanut Butter/Paste
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degree
- Roast peanuts for 12 to 15 minutes or until light brown, check often to avoid burnin
- Ground peanuts until a thick paste-like texture is achieved
Toasted Rice Flour
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- spread rice flour evenly on baking pan/cookie sheet
- Roast for 15-20 minutes, check often to avoid burning
Annatto Seed Extract:
- Steep in 1/4 cup simmering beef broth, let stand for 30 minutes, mix often
- Once red color is extracted, strain and add liquid to beef broth
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