Kare-Kare
Before the ready-mix Kare-kare came into the market, I cooked kare-kare the old fashioned way. Of course, busy homemakers prefer that method. Wikipedia notes that the kare-kare is made from Oxtail, with the skin on and cut into 2-inch lengths, and ox tripe are boiled until tender. Sometimes pieces of ox feet or shins are added. In some varieties, other types of meat are used, such as pork or (rarely) chicken (there is an instance of one version omitting the meat altogether and using vegetables). When the meat is tender, the soup becomes glutinous and to this is added ground roasted peanuts (or peanut butter), ground roasted glutinous rice to make the soup thicker. Atsuete (annatto) is added to give color. The basic vegetables for kare-kare include young banana flower bud or “heart” (puso ng saging), eggplant, string beans, and Chinese cabbage (pechay). Kare-kare is often served hot with special bagoong alamang (sauteed salted shrimp paste)..
Now for those that want the old, traditional way, here is how I do it.
Ingredients
1 buntot ng baka (ox tail) roughly 1 1/2 kilos
1 pata (ox leg) – Note: (You can always substitute the ox tail and ox leg with beef brisket)
6 cups water
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 head garlic, crushed
2 medium-sized onions, chopped
1/2 cup atsuete seeds for coloring
1/2 cup water (for atsuete)
4 eggplants, cut in 1/2 inch slices
1 banana heart, sliced crosswise
2 bundles stringbeans, cut in 2 inches length
1 bundle Chinese Cabbage (Pechay)
Optional vegetables (ampalaya, celery)
1/2 cup bagoong alamang
1 cup ground peanuts (if you prefer, substitute with peanut butter)
1 cup toasted to light brown, ground rice (if using peanut butter, reduce to 1/4 cup toasted ground rice)
Juice of 5 calamansi
salt and pepper
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Posted: March 10th, 2009 under Beef, Recipes.
Comments: 3
