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Do you like to eat curry? Then you’re sure to like kare-kare, or Filipino beef curry!
Kare-kare is a well-known dish from Pampanga, aptly hailed as the culinary capital of the Philippines. Its name is derived from the word “kari”, meaning “curry”.
However, kare-kare has a far different background from Indian curry. It has a similar flavor to satay because of the use of peanuts in the sauce.
This Filipino kare-kare recipe is a meat and vegetable stew with oxtail, beef or tripe, eggplant, banana buds, pechay, string beans, and other vegetables that are mainly flavored with a sweet and savory peanut sauce.
In this post we'll cover:
Kare-kare recipe: getting started
To start cooking kare-kare, start off with sautéing atsuete or annatto seeds until the red-orange color comes out from the seeds.
After this, remove the seeds from the atsuete oil and proceed with stir-frying the chopped onions and minced garlic.
Once these become light brown and aromatic, add in the ground rice followed by the peanut butter. Continue stirring this rice peanut butter mixture then add in the choice of meat.
The vegetables should be cooked in a separate stockpot to prevent them from getting over-cooked. Simmer the meat and peanut butter mixture and then adjust the taste accordingly.
Kare-Kare’s Basic ingredients
There are other versions of Kare-Kare where they substitute Beef with Pork.
Some use Seafood like Shrimp, mussels, crabs, and squid and they call this version as “ Kare-Kareng dagat” mainly because dagat means sea.
The best condiment for Kare-Kare is bagoong alamang or fermented shrimp paste. The bagoong alamang is sautéed with onions and garlic and then sugar is added for sweetness.
For a more exciting bagoong alamang, red chilies are mixed in for added spice.
The saltiness and sweetness of the bagoong alamang balances and complements the nutty and meaty flavor of Kare-Kare.
Just like any other Filipino main dish, Kare-Kare is best eaten with hot steamed rice.
Kare-kare Filipino Beef Curry recipe
Ingredients
- 2½ lbs Beef hocks or Oxtail, cut into 2” lengths
- 6 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 bundle sitaw or long beans (cut 3″ length)
- 2 bundles bokchoy / pechay
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 tsp achuete powder for coloring
- 1 medium eggplant (cut into 6 pieces)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- Bagoong or shrimp paste
Instructions
- Boil the Beef hocks or Pork until soft. Set aside. Reserve the broth.
- In a wok, saute garlic and onion.
- Add pork hocks and fish sauce. Cook for a few minutes.
- Add 2 1/2 cups of the pork/beef broth, salt, achuete and peanut butter. Simmer for 5 mins.
- Add the vegetables and cook until vegetables are tender. Stir occasionally.
- Season with salt to taste.
- Serve with bagoong or shrimp paste.
Notes
Nutrition
Ever had trouble finding Japanese recipes that were easy to make?
We now have "cooking Japanese with ease", our full recipe book and video course with step-by-step tutorials on your favorite recipes.
