Beef Kare Kare (Filipino Oxtail Stew in Peanut Sauce)
This rich and savory Beef Kare Kare features tender oxtail stew in a creamy peanut sauce, bringing the bold, aromatic flavors of the Philippines to your table
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 1815kcal
Equipment
- 1 medium pot
- 1 small frying pan
- 1 pressure cooker/ Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Oxtails
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Garlic minced
- 1 cup Onion chopped
- 1 cup Peanut Butter or ground peanut
- 2 teaspoon Annatto Powder or annatto water or annatto oil
- ¼ cup rice flour
- 1 tablespoon fish Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Beef powder or beef bouillon
- 6 cups oxtail broth
- 1 eggplant sliced
- 6 pieces green beans / String beans or long beans
- 3 Bokchoy/ baby bokchoy
- Shrimp Paste bagoong alamang, for serving
Instructions
- Place the oxtail in a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 2-3 hours, or until the meat is tender. Skim off any impurities that rise to the surface. You can use a pressure cooker to speed up this process. If using an Instant Pot, set it on high pressure for 1 hour.2 pounds Oxtails
- Boil water and cook the string beans or green beans for 3 minutes, then transfer them to ice water to stop the cooking process. Set aside. Repeat the same process for the bok choy.6 pieces green beans / String beans or long beans, 3 Bokchoy/ baby bokchoy
- Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the eggplant until golden. Set aside.1 eggplant, 2 tablespoon olive oil
- Once the oxtail is tender, sauté garlic and onion in a pot until they become fragrant and translucent.1 tablespoon Garlic, 1 cup Onion
- Add the oxtail and about 3 cups of oxtail broth, making sure to exclude any impurities. Let it simmer gently.2 pounds Oxtails, 6 cups oxtail broth
- In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, ground rice flour, annatto powder, beef buillion and 1 cup of warm broth until it becomes a thick peanut sauce. . Pour the mixture into the pot.1 cup Peanut Butter or ground peanut, 2 teaspoon Annatto Powder, ¼ cup rice flour, 6 cups oxtail broth, 1 Tablespoon Beef powder or beef bouillon
- Let the mixture simmer until it thickens. Add fish sauce to taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.1 tablespoon fish Sauce
- Add the eggplant, string beans, and bok choy to the pot. Continue simmering for another 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Serve with Bagoong and rice.Shrimp Paste
Notes
- Instant Pot is the move. Oxtail on the stovetop takes 2 to 3 hours of simmering. The Instant Pot gets you there in 1 hour on high pressure. Either works, but the pressure cooker makes this a realistic weeknight-ish dish.
- Toast the rice flour in a dry pan until lightly golden and nutty before adding. It gives the sauce real depth.
- Use natural unsweetened peanut butter (peanuts + salt). Sweet peanut butter can make the sauce taste flat.
- Use plain rice flour, not glutinous. Glutinous rice flour can turn the sauce gummy.
- Whisk peanut butter with a little warm broth first so it blends smooth, not clumpy.
- Blanch the vegetables separately and add them at the end so they stay bright and crisp.
- Annatto is for color, not flavor. It gives kare-kare that signature deep orange hue. If you don't have annatto powder, a few drops of annatto water or annatto oil work the same way. Skipping it entirely won't change the taste, just the color.
- Season lightly. Kare kare is meant to be mild because bagoong provides the salty punch at the table.
- Reheat on low with a splash of broth or water. Peanut sauce thickens and can scorch over high heat.
- Make ahead tip: cook oxtail a day early, chill, then lift off the solid fat before finishing the sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 1815kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 200.9g | Fat: 101.1g | Cholesterol: 667mg | Sodium: 2844mg | Potassium: 645mg | Fiber: 6.1g | Sugar: 7.6g | Iron: 29mg
