Filipino Beef Kare-Kare

Filipino Beef Kare-Kare

Kare-kare is a Filipino beef and vegetable stew served in a thick peanut-annatto sauce. The cooking is easier to follow when you think of it in four parts: tenderize the beef, make the sauce, add the vegetables, then finish with rice and bagoong.

This version uses beef chunks with optional tripe. The tripe can be left out, or replaced with oxtail or beef shank, without changing the sauce method.

Ingredient Groups

Beef and Stock

This first group tenderizes the meat and creates the stock used for the sauce. Add the beef chunks, optional tripe, garlic, onion, bay leaves, pepper, salt, vinegar, and water to the pressure cooker.

After cooking, keep the beef and strain the liquid. That strained liquid becomes the beef stock for the peanut sauce, so do not throw it away.

Peanut Sauce

The sauce starts with butter, oil, garlic, red onion, annatto powder, and a little shrimp paste. Annatto gives kare-kare its warm orange color, while shrimp paste adds savory depth.

Peanut butter makes the sauce simple and consistent. Rice flour mixed with cold water thickens the sauce near the end, so it coats the beef and vegetables without becoming gluey.

Vegetables

Pumpkin goes in first because it takes longer to soften. Eggplant, banana blossom, long beans, and Chinese cabbage go in after, so they stay tender but still hold their shape.

If banana blossom is hard to find, use bok choy, extra Chinese cabbage, green beans, or zucchini.

Step-by-Step Method

1. Tenderize the Beef

Add the beef chunks, optional tripe, garlic for the stock, onions for the stock, bay leaves, black pepper, salt, vinegar, and water to a pressure cooker.

Pressure cook for about 1 hour, or until the beef is tender. Remove the beef and tripe, then strain and reserve the cooking liquid for the sauce.

2. Build the Peanut Sauce

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the butter and cooking oil. Add the crushed garlic and chopped red onions, then cook until soft and fragrant.

Stir in the annatto powder and shrimp paste for about 30 seconds. Add the reserved beef stock, peanut butter, and fish sauce, then bring the sauce to a gentle simmer.

3. Thicken the Sauce

Mix the rice flour with cold water until smooth. Stir the slurry into the sauce a little at a time, stopping when the sauce is thick but still pourable.

If the sauce becomes too thick, loosen it with a splash of reserved stock or water.

4. Add Beef and Vegetables

Add the cooked beef, tripe, pumpkin, and vinegar to the sauce. Simmer until the pumpkin starts to soften.

Add the eggplant, banana blossom, long beans, and Chinese cabbage. Cook gently until the vegetables are tender but not overcooked.

5. Finish and Serve

Taste the sauce and adjust with fish sauce for saltiness or vinegar for brightness. Serve hot with steamed rice and bagoong on the side.

Practical Tips

Use marbled beef chunks, beef shank, or oxtail if you want a richer stew. If using oxtail, cook it until very tender before adding it to the sauce.

Keep the vegetables in larger pieces so they do not disappear into the sauce. Kare-kare should have a thick sauce, tender meat, and vegetables that are still visible on the plate.

For a more traditional flavor, toast ground rice and peanuts before adding them to the sauce. For an easier weeknight version, peanut butter and rice flour work well.

Storage and Make-Ahead

Kare-kare can be made a day ahead. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat gently so the sauce does not stick.

If freezing, freeze the beef and sauce together and add freshly cooked vegetables when reheating for the best texture.

Serving & Goal Fit

Serve kare-kare with steamed rice and bagoong, keeping the bagoong on the side so each person can control the saltiness.

This is a rich, high-protein dish, so a balanced plate works best with a moderate rice portion and plenty of vegetables from the stew.