Kare-kare

This article is about the Filipino dish. For the settlement in New Zealand, see Karekare, New Zealand.

Kare-kare
A bowl of kare-kare
CourseMain course
Place of originPampanga, Philippines
Serving temperatureHot
Main ingredientsOxtail, peanut sauce, vegetables
VariationsGoat meat, vegetarian, and vegan kare-kare
  •  Wikimedia Commons logo Media: Kare-kare

Kare-kare is a Filipino dish featuring a thick savory peanut sauce. It is generally made from a base of stewed oxtail, beef tripe, pork hocks, calves' feet, pig's feet or trotters, various cuts of pork, beef stew meat, and occasionally offal. Vegetables, such as eggplant, Chinese cabbage, or other greens, daikon, green beans, okra, and asparagus beans, are added. The stew is flavored with ground roasted peanuts or peanut butter, onions, and garlic. It is colored with annatto and can be thickened with toasted or plain ground rice.[1][2]

Condiments and other flavorings are usually added. It is often eaten with bagoong (shrimp paste), sometimes spiced with chili, ginisáng bagoóng (spiced and sautéed shrimp paste), and sprinkled with calamansi juice. Other seasonings are added at the table. Variants may include goat meat or (rarely) chicken.

Traditionally, most Filipino fiestas have kare-kare.[3] It is a complex dish to prepare, with a rich umami.

A more modern twist on the classic Filipino kare-kare uses a different dish as the main meat for this dish. Pork is one of the most economical and easiest meats to cook. The most common meats repurposed for kare-kare are lechon (which is also used for lechon kawali)[4] and crispy pata (crispy pork shank). Alternative main proteins are tofu, beef chuck, beef shank, maskara ng baka, or cartilage from the cow's face, and tripe.[5]

History

Although Kare-kare's history as a Filipino food goes back centuries, its origin is disputed due to a lack of definitive primary sources.[6]

The most often repeated history is that Kare-Kare is a corruption of Indian curry, coming from Indian sepoys from Southern India who settled in the Philippines during the British occupation of Manila after they rebelled against their British masters. Homesick, they improvised their own cuisine with available materials. They called it kari-kaari, curry, and now, kare-kare.

Peanuts, however, are relatively unknown in Indian curries, but are often used in the related Indonesian cuisine and Malay cuisines. [7] Curries, known in Indonesia and Malay as Kari, were also made in Mindanao (Moro), leading to an alternative origin as a derivative of Southern Filipino forms of Kari.[6]

This leads to the final (and most likely) possible origin for Kare-Kare in Pampanga, a region in the Philippines known for its contributions to Filipino cuisine, such as sisig and Menudo.[7] Kapampangan kari was adapted from Moro dishes, which features the fresher spices and herbs used in Malay curries, but not often used in Tagalog cooking.[7] The lack of fresh spices and the use of peanuts and pork led to the creation of kare-kare, a dish distinct from Kari and featuring different ingredients. [7]

It should also be noted that savory stews made of peanuts are common throughout the world, including the Mexican Encacahuatado. Due to Spanish colonization, Spanish (and by extension, Mexican) cuisine is well-known in the Philippines, but they are often heavily modified to feature Filipino ingredients or cooking techniques, as exemplified by Mexican Champurrado and the derivate Filipino Champorado, and Mexican Menudo and Filipino Menudo. [7] Also, there are many native Filipino dishes that are now known only by their Spanish name, as seen in Philippine adobo.

Preparation

Kare-kare, lengua with white sauce and pancit canton-bihon

The oxtail (with the skin on) is cut into 2-inch lengths. The ox tripe is boiled until tender. Sometimes pieces of ox feet or shins are added. When the meat is tender, the soup becomes gelatinous. Ground roasted peanuts (or peanut butter) and ground roasted glutinous rice are added to make the soup thicker. Annatto is added to give color. The vegetables used for kare-kare include young banana flower bud or "heart" (puso ng saging), eggplant, string beans, and Chinese cabbage (pechay).[8]

Kare-kare is often served hot with special bagoong alamang (sauteed salted shrimp paste). Vegan and Vegetarian versions emphasize the use of peanuts and coconuts to create the umami.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kare-Kare: Filipino ox tail stew". Instructables.
  2. ^ "Kare-Kare Recipe". August 2023.
  3. ^ "Philippines: Kare Kare". 196 flavors. January 7, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  4. ^ Santos, Rachelle (June 9, 2011). "Lechon Kawali Kare-Kare". yummy.ph. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  5. ^ "Kare Kare Recipe". Panlasang Pinoy. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Villar, Roberto (August 2, 2019). "The Fascinating History of Kare-kare". Esquiremag.ph. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e Jules (September 24, 2024). "The story of the Philippines through kare-kare". Julianna’s Substack. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
  8. ^ Team, Remy. "Kare-Kare: A Filipino Culinary Treasure". Remy - Review, List, Track, and share your favorite restaurants. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
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