Can I Say I Kare but Twice?

The other week my husband attended his training in Edmonton and when he got home he bought a Kare Kare from Max's. I remember Max's back in the Philippines, it's the best place to hold special occasions like baptism, wedding, birthdays and other big event. It is famous for its fried chicken. They also have a good and delicious variety of Filipino dishes and Kare Kare is one of them. Kare Kare is one of my husband's favorite and I should say that it's also one of my specialty. I normally cook it only for special occasion, but for today, my husband requested to have it for dinner. And it's weekends anyways and luckily I have the veggies I needed for this recipe when I went at Superstore.

KARE - KARE, derived from the word Kare meaning curry, is made from a variety of base stewed meat such as oxtail, beef tripe, pork hocks, and also seafood, complemented with a thick savory peanut sauce, made from ground roasted peanuts or peanut butter and colored with annatto, thickened with toasted or plain ground rice.

Let's Cook!

Ingedients:

• 1 to 2 kgs pork belly

• 1 cup peanut butter

• 2 bunches baby bok choy or pechay

• 12 pcs string beans sitaw, cut into desired length

• 2 pcs eggplant, sliced into desired size

• 1/4 cup annatto powder

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 medium onion, sliced

• Water for boiling pork and for the sauce

• Cooking oil for frying and sautéing

• 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup cooked bagoong alamang

• Optional: for seasoning 1 pork cubes or 1 pack of magic sarap

Preparation and Cooking:​

• Boil water in a pot.

• Add pork belly.

• Season with salt

• Cover and continue to boil in medium heat until meat is tender.

• After boiling, fry the pork belly, until crispy.

• Cut to desired bite size and set aside.

• Blanch or steam vegetables until cooked, set aside.

• If you prefer to fry the eggplant, you can do so

For the peanut sauce:

• Heat oil in a cooking pot.

• Sauté garlic and onion once the oil is hot.

• Cook until the onion starts to soften.

• Pour 1 1/2-quart water. Let boil.

• Cover the pot and continue to cook between low to medium heat for about 20 minutes.

• Add more water if needed.

• Combine peanut butter and annatto powder in a bowl. Mix well.

• Add the mixture of peanut butter and annatto powder into the pot. Stir. Continue to cook in medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes.

• For a thicker sauce, you can combine 1/2 cup water with cornstarch. Stir until cornstarch completely dissolves. Pour mixture into the pot. Stir and continue to cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens a bit.

• Optional: Add pork cube or seasoning and you can also use instant Kare Kare Mix for added favor.

• Season with ground black pepper and salt.