Kare-kare recipe

If you’re Filipino, this dish definitely rings a bell. Merely saying “Kare-kare” actually gets me into a homesick mood too. And boy, am I glad my mom’s here in New Zealand to cook us our all-time favorite. I’ve never bothered cooking it since I got here as the oxtail takes a long while to become tender. I just don’t have the patience for it, nor do I own a slow cooker.

So for today’s first run of Meat-lovin’ Mondays, I present to you.. Oxtail and Vegetable Peanut Stew:

Ingredients:

2.2 lb oxtail cut into 1 1/2″ lengths
1 pouch Mama Sita’s Peanut Sauce (Kare-kare) Mix dissolved in 1 cup broth
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp cooking oil
7 oz pechay (bok choy)
7 oz sitaw (long green beans), cut into 2″ lengths
10 cups water
1 oz sliced onion
7 oz sliced eggplant (optional)
bagoong (sauteed shrimp paste)

Procedure:

1. Boil oxtail in water. Lower heat and simmer until meat is tender leaving about 3 cups broth.
2. In a heavy saucepan, saute garlic and onion in oil. Add oxtail, stir fry and pour in dissolved Kare-kare mix. Add the remaining broth.
3. Stir and simmer until sauce thickens, then add the eggplant and sitaw. Simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Lastly, add pechay (bok choy) and simmer for 2 minutes until vegetables are done. Serve hot with bagoong and rice.

Happy cooking!