Kare-Kare ala Jadie

Good Day Foodaholics! Last Friday (Sept. 2, 2011), I posted to my Facebook account that I'll be cooking Kare-Kare for our dinner. At first, I'm quite hesitant because it is my first time to cook this dish and my aunt and uncle will be joining us for dinner. But then I realized, why should i be?... cooking is a learning process and I need to trust my culinary ability. So, at exactly five o'clock in the afternoon I started cooking and today I'm already set to share the outcome of my first ever Kare-Kare dish. Hope you'll like it. 

Kare-Kare, a dish of tripe, oxtail, or pork leg mixed with fresh vegetables cooked in peanut sauce, is one of the most festive Filipino dishes. It is best served with native shrimp paste- "bagoong" (a.k.a. "alamang" in Lipa, Batangas).

There are two ways to cook this dish--the traditional way and the instant way using Kare-Kare mix which is now readily available in the supermarkets.

Now Here's the traditional way:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo beef and oxtail, or pork leg (on my dish i used pork leg)
• 3 cups of peanut butter
• 1/4 cup grounded toasted rice
• 1/2 cup cooked bagoong alamang (shrimp paste)
• 2 pieces onions, diced
• 2 heads of garlic, minced
• 4 tablespoons atsuete oil
• 4 pieces eggplant, sliced cut diagonally, 1" thick
• 1 bundle Pechay (Bok choy) 
• 1 bundle of sitaw (string beans) cut to 2″ long
• 1 banana bud,  blanch in boiling water
• 1/2 cup oil
• 8-10 cups of water
• Salt to taste

Cooking Instructions:

• In a stock pot, boil pork legs in water for an hour or until cooked and tender. Strain and keep the stock.
• In a big pan or wok, heat oil and atsuete oil.
• Sauté garlic, onions until golden brown, then add the stock, toasted rice, pork legs and peanut butter. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Salt to taste.
• Add the eggplant, string beans, okra, pechay and banana bud. Cook the vegetables for a few minutes – Do not overcook the vegetables.
• Serve with bagoong/alamang on the side.

Here's the instant way:

• 1/2 kilo beef and oxtail, or pork leg
• 8-10 cups water
• 1 pack Kare-Kare mix
• banana bud, sliced crosswise
• 2 eggplant, sliced diagonally
• 1 bundle sitaw/string beans 
  
  

Cooking Instructions:

• Boil meat until tender.
• Stir in Kare-Kare mix.
• Add in fresh vegetables and cook in medium heat.
•    Simmer until sauce thickens. Serve hot with shrimp paste. 
  
  
  After more than an hour preparing my Kare-Kare, my aunt and my uncle arrived, so I set up the table immediately. While we were about to eat I feel like I'm on a cooking challenge and my family are the judges-- a little bit nervous then. Finally, the verdict came...
  
  
  Papa: Hmm, amoy Kare-kare nga!
  Tita Lena: Pasado! masarap... Salamat sa dinner.
  Tito Lary: Pwede ka na mag-asawa!
  
  
  --Oh! they liked it... I'm quite relieved. We all enjoyed eating... what a happy night!