Kare-Kare (Filipino Peanut Oxtail Stew)
Kare-kare is a Filipino celebration stew where beef shank is braised until fork-tender and served in a thick peanut-based sauce with vegetables. The shank requires at least sixty minutes of simmering so that its abundant connective tissue breaks down into gelatin, yielding meat that falls apart at the touch of a spoon. Glutinous rice flour is dry-toasted in a pan until lightly golden, adding a nutty fragrance before it is whisked into the broth as a thickener. Peanut butter dissolved in the strained broth forms the sauce's rich, creamy foundation, and the toasted rice flour gives it body without the slickness of cornstarch. Eggplant, yardlong beans, and bok choy are added in the final five to seven minutes so they soften without turning mushy. The traditional accompaniment is bagoong, a fermented shrimp paste whose intense saltiness and funk contrast sharply with the mild, nutty sauce.
Adjust Servings
Instructions
- 1
Rinse beef shank, then simmer in a pot for 60 minutes until tender.
- 2
Toast glutinous rice flour lightly in a dry pan over low heat.
- 3
Remove and slice the cooked beef; strain the broth.
- 4
Saute garlic, then add broth and dissolve peanut butter.
- 5
Add toasted rice flour to thicken, then simmer with beef for 15 minutes.
- 6
Add eggplant, yardlong beans, and bok choy; cook 5-7 minutes to finish.
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