Kare-Kare

Kare-kare is one of mom's specialties. It is a Filipino stew  mostly commonly served on birthdays and other special occasions. Hubby says, it sounds like adapted from Indian dish Curry. Hmm, maybe but the sauce of kare-kare is made from peanut and not coconut milk. For me, this is an expensive dish. But I don't care, once every 2 or 3 months, won't hurt the pocket. 

You can use oxtail, beef, pork or tripe for this recipe. Though oxtail and beef are a lot tastier than other  meat. This recipe is a mixture of oxtail and tripe.

Ingredients:

1 piece Oxtail -cut into 2 inches thick
1/2 kg Tripe -sliced on your desired size
1 liter of water
3 cloves Garlic - minced
1 medium size Onion - chopped
1 big size Aubergine (3- 4 Eggplants) -sliced
400 grams Green Beans  (Sitaw) -cut into about 2 inches long
2-3 Pak Choi (Pechay) - stems separated
1 banana bud or blossom (puso ng saging) Sometimes due to unavailability, I do not put this.
1 tbsp Annatto Powder ( atsuete) -dissolved in warm water
1 jar of Peanut Butter (preferably smooth)
3 tbps toasted ground rice 
Salt and pepper to taste 
2 tbsp Cooking Oil (Vegetable/Sunflower)
Shrimp Paste (Dip)


Method of cooking:

1. In a large pot, boil the water and add the oxtail. Put some salt. Cook the meat until tender (approximately 2 -3 hours). Half way through the cooking add the tripe. You may need to add more water as it evaporates in the process.
2. Stir-in the peanut butter and the dissolved annatto powder. Set the heat on medium and simmer again for another 5-10 minutes. 
3. Add the toasted ground rice and simmer again for 5 minutes more. 
4. In a large pan/wok, saute garlic, onion and green beans for 3 minutes. Add the aubergine and cook for another 5 minutes. Finally, add the pak choi and toss for 2 minutes. 
5. Transfer the sauteed vegetables in the large pot where you boiled the oxtail. Simmer for 3 minutes. 
6. Finally, add some salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve hot with boiled rice and shrimp paste.