Kare-kare

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A bowl of kare-kare

Kare-kare is a Philippine stew. It is made from peanut sauce with a variety of vegetables, stewed oxtail, beef, and occasionally offal or tripe. Meat variants may include goat meat or (rarely) chicken. It is often eaten with bagoong (shrimp paste), sometimes spiced with chili, and sprinkled with calamansi lime juice. Any Filipino fiesta, particularly in the Tagalog region, is not complete without kare-kare. In some Filipino-American versions of the dish, oxtail is exclusively used as the meat.

[edit] History

As with many things in the Philippines, there are several stories as to the origins of this rather unusual yet distinctly Filipino dish. The first one is that it came from Pampanga, known as the Culinary Center of the Philippines. Another, from the regal dishes of the Moro elite who once settled in Manila before the Spanish arrival (interestingly enough, in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, Kare-kare also remains a popular dish). Some say that the name comes from a corruption of the word "curry", and that the dish evolved from the cooking of Indians who settled in the area of Cainta, Rizal (see Sepoys) many years ago. The combination of a beef, tripe, and vegetable stew cooked in peanut sauce and served with the pungent fermented shrimp paste (bagoong) that is considered as an integral part of the dish (bagoong is always served with kare-kare), must seem particularly bizarre to non-Filipinos; yet it is one of the ultimate comfort foods for Filipinos worldwide, and is a perennial family favorite in both local and overseas Filipino households.

[edit] Preparation

Oxtail, with the skin on and cut into 2-inch lengths, and ox tripe are boiled until tender. Sometimes pieces of ox feet or shins are added. In some varieties, other types of meat are used, such as pork or (rarely) chicken. (There is an instance of one version omitting the meat altogether and using vegetables) When the meat is tender, the soup becomes glutinous and to this is added ground roasted peanuts (or peanut butter), ground roasted glutinous rice to make the soup thicker. Atsuete (annatto) is added to give color. The basic vegetables for kare-kare include young banana flower bud or "heart" (puso ng saging), eggplant, string beans, and Chinese cabbage (pechay). Kare-kare is often served hot with special bagoong alamang (sauteed salted shrimp paste).