The Philippines' grand fiesta stew — slow-braised oxtail and tripe in a thick golden peanut and toasted-rice sauce, served with bok choy, eggplant, long beans and a side of pungent shrimp paste.
Kare-kare is one of the great fiesta dishes of the Philippines, a stew so rich and golden it appears on every important Filipino table from baptisms to noche buena. The base is oxtail simmered for hours until the meat falls from the bone and the broth turns silky with collagen, then thickened with ground roasted peanuts and toasted rice flour into a sauce the color of pale gold. Tripe and ox cheek often join the oxtail; vegetables — Chinese long beans, Asian eggplant, banana heart, bok choy — are added at the end and barely cooked, so they keep snap and brightness against the heavy stew. The defining accompaniment is bagoong alamang, a salty-funky shrimp paste sautéed with garlic and sometimes a touch of sugar and chili, served in a small bowl on the side. Each diner takes a spoonful and dabs it onto the meat — the bagoong is essential, because kare-kare itself is intentionally bland, designed as a canvas for the salt and umami of the shrimp paste. Served over steamed rice, the combination of mellow peanut broth, melting beef and pungent bagoong is unforgettable. Made at home it is a weekend project — but the payoff feeds twelve.
Serves 8
If using tripe, place in a pot of cold water, bring to a boil, drain and rinse. Repeat once more — this removes any off odors. Set aside.
Skip this step and your stew will taste barnyard. It's the one rule.
Place the oxtail in a large stockpot with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, simmer 5 minutes, then drain and rinse the meat — this removes scum that would cloud the final sauce.
Return oxtail (and tripe) to the cleaned pot. Add the 3 L fresh water, the quartered onion and the halved garlic head. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover partway, and cook 2.5–3 hours until the oxtail meat pulls easily from the bone. Skim foam regularly during the first 30 minutes.
While the meat simmers, warm the oil with the annatto seeds in a small pan over low heat for 5 minutes until the oil turns deep orange-red. Strain out and discard the seeds. This annatto oil is what gives kare-kare its signature gold color.
When the oxtail is tender, lift out the meat and tripe with a slotted spoon. Slice the tripe into bite-sized strips. Strain the broth through a fine sieve, discarding aromatics. You should have about 2 liters of clear, gelatinous broth — if more, reduce by simmering; if less, top up with water.
In a wide heavy pot, heat the annatto oil over medium and fry the minced garlic for 1 minute. Whisk in the peanut butter and toasted rice flour, then slowly pour in the broth, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes until the sauce thickens to a pourable gravy.
Slip the oxtail and tripe back into the sauce. Simmer 10 minutes to reheat. Add eggplant, long beans, banana heart (if using) and cook 5 minutes — the eggplant should be just tender, the beans still bright green. Finally add the bok choy and cook 90 seconds until wilted.
Stir in a splash of fish sauce — kare-kare should taste mellow and nutty, intentionally under-salted because bagoong does the seasoning work at the table. Ladle into a big bowl. Serve with steamed rice, a small bowl of sautéed bagoong alamang and lime wedges.
Use a pressure cooker to cut the oxtail simmer to 45 minutes if you're short on time — texture is nearly identical.
Natural peanut butter (just peanuts and salt) gives the best flavor. Skippy or commercial brands work but the added sugar/oil thins the sauce.
Toast rice flour by toasting raw rice grains dry in a pan until deep golden, then grinding — it tastes nothing like raw rice flour and is worth the 8 extra minutes.
Make a day ahead — the stew is even better the next day after the flavors marry overnight.
Kare-kareng manok — chicken version, much faster (45 minutes total) but lacks the gelatinous depth.
Kare-kareng pusit — squid kare-kare, popular in coastal Luzon; cook squid only 2 minutes at the end.
Vegetarian kare-kare — substitute fried tofu and mushrooms, use vegetable stock and miso in place of fish sauce.
Kapampangan-style — uses ground toasted rice and peanuts in equal measure for a sandier, more rustic sauce.
Refrigerate up to 4 days — the flavor improves. Freeze the meat and sauce up to 3 months; add fresh vegetables when reheating. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water to loosen the sauce.
Kare-kare likely descends from Indian and Malay influence on Philippine cuisine via Moro and Kapampangan cooks, with the name possibly derived from 'kari' (curry). The Kapampangan region of central Luzon claims the dish as its own and is widely regarded as producing the best versions. The use of bagoong as a condiment is purely Filipino and dates to pre-colonial fish-preservation traditions.
Yes — many modern Filipino home cooks skip it. Use 2 kg oxtail or supplement with beef cheek for a richer stew.
Latin or Filipino grocery stores stock them (also called 'achiote' or 'achuete'). Substitute 1 teaspoon paprika for color, though the flavor differs slightly.
Yes. Without bagoong, kare-kare tastes flat and under-seasoned. A jar of sautéed bagoong alamang keeps for weeks refrigerated and is worth finding.
Likely you didn't toast the rice flour, or didn't whisk hard enough when adding the broth. Pass through a sieve, or blend with an immersion blender for 10 seconds to smooth.
Per serving (480g) · 8 servings total
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