Kare-Kareng Puti

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Kare Kare very loosely finds its origin from Indo-Malay cuisine with the use of strange animal parts (ox tail or pig stomach) peanuts, fermented fish sauce (patis) and salted anchovies (bagoong). In fact the name traces its etymology as a kind of curry.

Kare-kare has always been a Filipino food staple served whenever we have foreign guests and balikbayans. I have not really tried making kare-kare without the help of my dear friend Mama Sita but today I thought of trying to make it from ingredients not coming out of a pouch. So guys and gals, here is my (easy) recipe for Kare-Kareng Puti!

KARE-KARENG PUTI

Ingredients:

1 kilo ox tripe (goto); can easily be substituted with ox tail - boiled in salted water for 4 hours, until tender
5 cups broth (from boiling ox tripe)
1/4 glutinous rice flour (malagkit flour) or grounded bigas. All purpose flour may not work the same. :)
1 cup creamy peanut butter (choose salted or unsweetened if possible)
4 tablespoons fish sauce or patis
2 teaspoons hot sauce (adjust to taste)
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
3 small eggplants, sliced into 3/4 inch rounds
2 bunches Chinese pechay (bok choi)
1 bunch / 12 pcs long beans (sitao)
anchovy paste (bagoong), for serving

Procedure:

1. In a dry pan over medium heat, toast the glutinous rice flour until golden (see color of picture). Should take in between 5-7 minutes. Careful not to burn this! Set aside.

2. In a large pot, saute garlic and onions until slightly brown over medium heat.

3. Add the boiled tripe until well coated with oil.

4. Add peanut butter, fish sauce, hot sauce and toasted rice flour. Stir well until no trace of flour can be seen.

Similar to the French technique of making roux.

5. Add the broth and simmer over low-medium heat for 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it and stir once in a while so sauce does not stick on the pan. Check seasoning and adjust accordingly (remember, this will still be served with salty bagoong).

6. Add the eggplant and long beans. Simmer for 3 minutes. Add the bok choi and simmer for another 3 minutes.

7. Serve piping hot over steamed white rice with the bagoong and chili sauce on the side!


So you wonder what makes this Kare Kare "White" or "Puti" compared to the Kare Kare we are used to? :)

picture from Google

By omitting atsuete or annato, there is no orangey color in the dish. Guess makes it more appetizing to the eyes but it does not drastically change the flavor of the dish. I guess there is whole psychology to food after all.

Hope you try this version of Kare-Kare and let me know what you think! Happy eating from D'Kitchen Bitchen!!! Have a great week ahead!