Kare-kare

Braised oxtail with peanut sauce. We in Southeast Asia love offal, and oxtail is a favourite meat for soup. Sop Buntut (Indonesian oxtail soup) is a well-known and popular one-bowl meal served with rice or rice noodles. Kare-kare is a Philippines variation on the theme, using oxtail as the basis of a substantial main course. It is customary to serve it with two or three kinds of cooked vegetables, mixed with the peanut sauce. Filipinos also like to serve a chilli-hot shrimp paste, which they call guisadong bagoong alamang, with this dish. My suggestion is to serve Kare-kare with the dried shrimp relish.

Review now

Ingredients

4 tbsp white vinegar		1 tsp ground turmeric
3 lb 3 oz–4 1/2 lb (1.5–2 kg) oxtail, trimmed of excess fat and cut into segments 2 1/2 –3 in (6–8 cm) long		1 tbsp black pepper
3 tbsp groundnut oil		6–8 oz (175–225 g) yard-long beans, cut into 10 cm (4 in) pieces, or fine French beans
4 shallots, chopped		6–8 oz (175–225 g) white cabbage or Chinese cabbage, roughly sliced
1 head of garlic, chopped (use less if preferred)		6–8 oz (175–225 g) carrots, cut into thin rounds
1 tsp shrimp paste		10 fl oz (300 ml) Sambal Kacang
1 tsp coarse sea salt

directions

Total:

Try Kitchen View! Take your computer to the kitchen and view this recipe full-screen, with step-by-step directions.

Enter Kitchen View

1
Add the vinegar to a bowl of water. Wash the oxtail pieces in this, then drain them in a colander and dry them with kitchen paper. Put the oxtail into a large saucepan and add enough cold water to cover. Bring to the boil and boil for 5 minutes. Drain the oxtail pieces.
2
In another saucepan, heat the oil over a moderate heat and fry the shallots, stirring often, until they start to colour. Add the oxtail and stir the pieces around in the oil for a few minutes.
3
Crush the garlic, shrimp paste and coarse salt together in a mortar, then add to the pan with the turmeric and pepper. Stir well, then add enough cold water just to cover the meat. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat a little and cover the pan. Simmer for 2–2 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender and the sauce quite thick. Skim every half hour or so during the simmering, and add a little hot water when the cooking liquid gets too low.
4
Remove the oxtail from the pan and transfer to an ovenproof serving dish; keep warm in a low oven. Turn the heat under the saucepan to high and bring the cooking juices to the boil. Cook uncovered for 5–10 minutes or until reduced by half.
5
At the same time, cook the vegetables in boiling water for 3–4 minutes or until tender; drain. Arrange the cooked vegetables on top of the oxtail. Keep hot.
6
Stir the Sambal Kacang into the reduced cooking juices. Add 4fl oz (125ml) hot water if the sauce is too thick. Heat until very hot, then pour all over the vegetables. Serve immediately, with rice.

Chime In

iVillage

Kare-kare

Ingredients

directions