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Filipino

Kare-kare

Non-vegetarian

Beef braised until tender in a thick, mild peanut and toasted rice sauce with aubergine, long beans and bok choy, served with salty shrimp paste on the side.

Kare-kare is a Filipino stew from Philippines, ready in about 3 hours 5 minutes and made with beef chuck and peanut butter. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
A serving of Kare-kare
Photo: GwennVienn / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
2 h 45 min
Total
3 h 5 min
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
441

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Simmer the beef in the water with the salt, skimming, until very tender. Reserve about 1 litre of the broth.

    A pressure cooker does this in about 40 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Toast the rice in a dry pan until golden and nutty, then grind to a powder.

  3. Step 3

    In a clean pot, fry the onion (opens in a new tab) and garlic (opens in a new tab) in the oil until soft, stir in the paprika (opens in a new tab), then the beef. Add the reserved broth and whisk in the peanut butter (opens in a new tab).

    • 6 min
    • medium heat
    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Whisk the ground rice with a little broth, stir it in and simmer until the sauce is thick and smooth.

    • 5 min
    • medium-low heat
    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Add the aubergine (opens in a new tab) and beans and simmer until tender, then the bok choy (opens in a new tab) for the last 2 minutes. Serve with bagoong and rice.

    • 8 min
    • medium-low heat
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Philippines · Well documentedIts earlier history is debated.More food from Philippines
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Stews & braises · Main courses
Cooking method
Braised, Simmered
Taste
nutty, rich, mild, savoury
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration · Make-ahead · Batch cooking
Cook more with
Beef chuck · Peanut butter · Glutinous rice · Onion · Garlic · Paprika
Techniques
Simmering · Braising · Dry grinding

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Crustaceansfrom shrimp paste
  • Contains: Peanutsfrom peanut butter

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

441 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 522 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 38%
  • Carbohydrate 17%
  • Fat 45%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy441 kcal85 kcal
Protein43.5 g8.3 g
Carbohydrate19.6 g3.8 g
Net carbohydrate15 g2.9 g
Sugars6.4 g1.2 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre4.7 g0.9 g
Fat22.7 g4.3 g
Saturated fat5.6 g1.1 g
Trans fat0.4 g0.1 g
Cholesterol107 mg20 mg
Sodium760 mg146 mg
Salt equivalent1.9 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1092 mg
Calcium
130 mg
Iron
5.1 mg
Magnesium
102 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
141 µg
Vitamin C
30 mg
Vitamin D
0.2 µg
Vitamin B12
3.8 µg
Folate (DFE)
82 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: shrimp paste.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Blanch the vegetables separately and arrange them on top if you want them bright green.

Common mistakes

  • Seasoning the sauce heavily — the salty bagoong on the side is meant to do that job.

Serve with

  • Serve with steamed rice and bagoong alamang.

Food safety

  • Simmer the beef until very tender; refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and reheat to a full boil.
  • Bagoong is fermented: keep opened jars refrigerated.

Storage

  • Refrigerate for up to 3 days (store the vegetables separately if possible).

Reheating

  • Reheat gently with a splash of water; the sauce thickens on standing.

Variations

  • Seafood or vegetable kare-kare: Use prawns and mussels, or tofu and extra vegetables, with vegetable stock.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 5

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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