Kare-kare or kari-kari is a popular Filipino dish especially in the Tagalog region. The Filipino version of the beef stew flavoured and thickened in a peanut - based sauce, with a variety of vegetables. The most common cuts of beef used are tail, shank or face. A combination of the three may be used and most cooks preferred to add tripe. If these are not available you can use round or sirloin cut.

The meat is first tenderized, then sauteed in garlic, bagoong, annatto seeds, and vegetables. Peanut butter is added during the last stages of cooking to thicken the sauce and give the characteristic flavour of the kari-kari.

Most common vegetables used are string beans or snake beans, pechay or baby bachoy, eggplant and banana buds from the banana heart, (optional ).

Kare-kare is always serve with white boil rice and bagoong alamang on the side. Bagoong Alamang is a paste of salted and fermented shrimp fingerlings, it is like a shrimp paste. Bagoong has a strong taste for some people but for me kare - kare is not kare kare if not serve with bagoong.

If green mangoes are available, it will be nice to serve it as a salad.

Meat:

• 1 oxtail
• 1 ox leg
• 1 ox tripe

Vegetables:

• 2 medium sized eggplant cut in small pieces
• 1 banana heart sliced diagonally (optional)
• 1 bunch of pechay or baby bok choy
• 1 bunch of sitaw (snake/string beans)
• 1/2 head of cabbage

Other Ingredients :

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced or chopped
• 1 big onion sliced thinly
• 3 tablespoon cooking oil

• Wash the ox tail, legs and beef. Cut into serving pieces. Place in a heavy saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, remove the scums as it rises, cover, add more water if you need to. Kare kare is better if the meat is tender. Let simmer until the meat is tender this will take about 1-2 hours.
• Transfer the meat into a plate or a bowl and let it cool, set aside the stock.
• In a large caserrole put the cooking oil to saute the garlic and onion in about 30 seconds.
• Put the meat in the skillet and continue mixing.
• Pour in the stock and bring to a boil for another 10 minutes.
• Add the vegetables.
• In a small bowl, stir the peanut butter with about 1/2 cup of stock and pour it in the caserrole. Stir to blend well. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until the sauce is thick.
• Serve hot with bagoong alamang and boil rice.

Note:

• Don't over cook the vegetables, you can also cook or blanch the vegetables separately in a caserrole and them mix it when the dish is about to be served.
• Traditionally, annatto (achuete) seeds are added to redden the dish. Annato seed are now also available in powder form.  

Every family or every cook has his/her version of Kare-kare, but one thing is common, this Filipino dish is a rich and heavy meal served with rice, an ideal Sunday lunch dish and goes well with special occasions like fiesta, family gathering, birthday party and even served on Noche Buena or Christmas lunch or dinner.