Kare – kare

Kare-kare is a traditional Filipino stew cooked with tripe, hog leg, ox tail, goat, or chicken meat, veggies, and a delectable annatto-flavoured peanut sauce. Shrimp paste (bagoong) is usually served on the side to improve the flavour of the dish. Kare kare is a classic Filipino stew that is the ultimate comfort meal like sinigang na baboy.

Kare-kare is traditionally cooked in a clay cooking pot known as a palayok, which also functions as a serving bowl after fully done. It’s a peanut-based stew seasoned with annatto powder (or achiote oil) to achieve the marigold colour and stuffed with different meats and vegetables (like oxtail or beef) and vegetables (like eggplant, pechay, string beans and more). It is currently regularly served at various Filipino events and is one of the most popular meals in the Philippines, although its history is hazy.

There are three general theories as to where kare kare originated: the Kapampangan version, in which a traditional dish called Kari is thought to be the original kare kare; the precolonial Moro elite, who claim kare kare is a traditional dish in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi; and the Sepoy soldiers from the Southern Indian British colonies, where kare kare evolved from a type of curry. Kare-kare, regardless of its origins, is a popular local dish.

The wonderful thing about this dinner, like pig or chicken adobo, is that it just becomes better the next day when the flavors combine.   This big dish is a labor of love, but it’s worth making and presenting at your next dinner party!