Kare-Kare is home to Pampanga. Pampanga is known to be the Culinary Center of the Phillippines. So technically, this is a special dish.
Kare-Kare is a Fiilipino stew with rich and thick peanut sauce. Yes, you read that right, Peanut Sauce. It is most commonly served during special occasions. Kare-Kare’s traditional recipe accounts for ox tail. The vegetable components of the dish are string beans, eggplant, bok choy, and banana blossom.
The meet component of kare-kare can diffeer from time to time; we have beef kare-kare, seafood kare-kare and pork pata kare-kare.
Wanna know the secret in making kare-kare? Its actually bagoong alamang, or fermented shrimp paste. This gives kare-kare its to-crave-for taste. Enjoy kare-kare with a spoonful of rice and an additional bagoong on the side, and voila, the perfect way to eat kare-kare.
Growing up, I came to find out that cooking kare-kare was never that easy. My aunt being the traditional woman she is, she cooks kare-kare the traditional way too. Taking at most 3-4 hours to perfect this dish.
Now, going back to the peanut sauce. This peanut sauce is a tricky little fella. It can either enhance the kare-kare flavor, or the other way round. It takes a LOT of patience and practice to perfect kare-kare. Maybe that’s why its mostly only served during occasions. It is the ideal get together food.
AsSanYu 