Oxtail kare Kare Recipe

Filipinos love having friends and family around them. We enjoy company and food so much  we practically celebrate any occasion known to man.

Birthdays..  Wedding.. Reunion...  Having a baby? Got yourself a new car, house or kitchen? Did your kid finished high school ? Did you passed an exam? Got a visa somewhere? Someone working abroad is coming back home.. Manny Pacqiao in the ring beating somebody into a pulp.. Err death anniversary of someone you know? Yup, we celebrated both life and death.

FF and I were invited to a baptism  weeks ago. So what happen when few Filipinas get together? Loud talk and hysterical laughter are shared over abundant foods . Then, between main dish and dessert , date and place for the next get together is discussed and set. Another party! Yay!

So I came to this party carrying a large serving dish containing Kare Kare . A peanut -based stew, usually using oxtail, tripe or beef and is usually  served with sauteed shrimp paste as a condiment.  Compare to the typical tomato based stews in the Philippines, this one taste different and  unique, laborious in making thus considered by many  , quite special. 

Oxtail Kare Kare ala Emily

 ( good for 10)

1.5 - 2 kg oxtail

3 large onion

2 cups of chopped celery stalk

5 bay leaves

1 tbsp. whole peppercorn

1 whole garlic head

1.5- 2 L water ( simply eyeball the amount)

olive oil.

1/2 cup powdered glutinous rice

2 tbsp. annatto/ Atsuete powder

100 g toasted peanut, ground

4 tbsp. peanut butter

2 -3 large eggplant

300 g green beans

500 g baby bokchoi

salt and pepper

Alamang Guisado ( Available in many Asian stores)

Cooking Instructions: 

1. Wash Oxtail under cold running water. Put in a big pot. Pour enough water to so oxtail is submerged in liquid. It may depend on how wide/big your pot is. I used almost 2 L of water. Bring water to a boil, skim off fat using a ladle.

2. Peel onion and cut into quarter , wash and coarsely chop celery stalk, peel about 5 garlic gloves and smash. Add everything to the pot along with peppercorns and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and lower heat to gently simmer . After about an hour, save about a cup of broth. You need it later. Cook for another hour or more until meat is tender. 

 3. Put glutinous rice in a pan and heat until it's slightly toasted and changes color to light brown or ocher. Put aside.

4. Once the oxtail is tender, fish out the meat from the pan and set a side. Pour the contents if the pot in a bowl through a colander.

 5. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Saute one finely chopped ,large onion and 3 cloves of minced garlic. Put oxtail into the pan. Stir and season with salt.

 

6. Dissolve 3 tbsp. Annato/ Atsuete powder in the oxtail broth. Pour it back to the  oxtail meat.

7. Spoon peanut butter and ground peanut. Bring to a boil.

8. Remember that cup of oxtail broth? Cooking instruction number 2. Use it to dissolve the toasted glutinous rice flour. Cooking instruction number 3.

9.  Pour that mixture into the pot. The starch will help thicken up the sauce. Cover and bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Give the sauce a try, season with salt and pepper as need.

10. Cut eggplant into serving pieces. Arrange on top of the oxtail meat. Cover and cook for about 8 minutes. Add in green bean, cook for another 5 minutes.

11. Wash and put baby bokchoi over beans and eggplant.  Cook for 3 more minutes. To keep vegetable green and crunchy, you can simply blanche the bokchoi and serve on top of the stew.

Serve with Alamang and enjoy!