Kare Kare - A Piece Of India In Philippine Cuisine

Slow cooking, carefully selected ingredients and right cooking processes. These are the steps in making a delicious kare kare. Curry or Kare Kare as we call it in the Philippines, is a developed version of the curry that originated in India. It is known in history, that the British occupied Manila from the Spaniards in the 17th century. Together with the British conquest came Indian slaves who settled in Manila and served the British crown till it  surrendered a  few years later  as a result of a concerted Filipino-Spanish uprising. 

 Curry mix

The Indian slaves remained in the country and intermarried with the natives, rendering some Filipinos, especially those leaving in Cainta , now a part of Rizal, with strong Indian features. Since curry which happens to be an Indian staple food vanished when the British left, the Indians substituted their curry which is originally  derived from a list  of spices ranging from cinnamon, turmeric, nutmeg , chillies and cloves  with ingredients that are endemic to the country like annatto seeds and peanuts. 

With the introduction of this dish in Philippine kitchens,  Kare Kare gradually became a favorite dish among the natives. Each household would have their own secret sauce recipe which is basically yellow and flavored with peanuts  and local seasonings, fresh vegetables and paired with sauteed shrimp paste or bagoong.

Nowadays, we can see a lot of small eateries and Filipino restaurants serving Kare Kare as one of their specialties - each claiming to have the original recipe. As to its standard and  original recipe, no one is in the position to claim since the present recipe developed as a result of cooks playing on its flavors and textures. Others eat it with bagoong while others prefer not to have it.

My version of the Kare Kare is more simple,  as Mama Sita's made it convenient for every  Filipino household especially for overseas workers like me. Thanks to Alicia Reyes a.k.a Aling Asiang of Aristocrat, we don't have to go through the tedious task of grounding roasted rice, extracting annato oil and depend on our own TANCHAmeter to season the stew.  All we have to do now is follow the instructions as indicated at the back of the sachet and you now have Kare Kare. Of course, not all depend on Mama Sita's to do the work for them, to include me  in particular. So aside from using Mama Sita, I also had to unleash  the cook in me that loves to experiment on good and delicious food.

Boil the beef for 3 hours till tender. In another pot, heat some annatto oil and saute some onions and garlic with a piece of beef bouillon. After which, pour the beef broth, the mama sita mix, a few spoons of peanut butter and salt and pepper to taste. No bagoong for this one since the sauce is already flavorful. 

 My Kare Kare version with the vegetables beautifully arranged on top

While the sauce simmers,boil the vegetables consisting of banana heart, petchay, string beans and egg plant in another pot. When the sauce is already thick add the boiled beef and simmer it for 5 minutes. Now, you can serve  the kare kare to your friends  who are eager to partake of the rich and flavorful stew. Truly a taste of home, Mangan ta!