While in the Philippines, you will have likely tasted lechon
as well as traditional dishes and comfort food like sinigang and adobo. Perhaps
you have challenged yourself to eat balot (unfertilized duck egg) and dinuguan
(blood stew). But before you leave the country, you might as well taste and
enjoy one classic Filipino dish – kare kare.
What is kare kare?
Kare kare is a stew of beef, tripe, oxtail, and ham hock in
thick peanut sauce mixed with different vegetables such as eggplant, pechay
(Chinese cabbage), string beans, and banana blossom. This dish is served with
shrimp paste called bagoong to add flavor to the mild-tasting peanut sauce.
Today’s version of kare kare uses peanut butter. With its thick sauce, it only
means it has to be eaten with steaming hot rice.
Slow cooked until meat is tender, with the ham hock having a
gelatinous texture, the vegetables should remain softened, resulting in some
restaurants serving the vegetables on the side rather than mixing it all
together. It has an orange color, a result of annatto.
An interesting history of kare kare
Will it come as a surprise that “kare kare” comes from the
word, “curry”? Word repetition is the Malay style connoting something faux-like
(or “something like [object]”). Thus, kare kare is a faux-like version of
curry. After all, kare kare doesn’t resemble any Indian curry dish, except for
its orange color.
Unbeknownst to many, the British briefly occupied Manila
from 1762-1764 bringing with them 500 Indian soldiers, known as Sepoys. When
the British withdrew, the Indian soldiers deserted and remained in the
Philippines. They successfully assimilated to Philippine society and married
local women, eventually settling in Pasig, Taytay, and Cainta.
These Indian settlers then introduced kaikaari, a saucy dish
of vegetables and oxtail. Since curry was not available in the Philippines at
that time, the Indians used local ingredients like peanut and annatto.
Kare kare and the birth of Filipino-style eateries
The cultural role of kare kare in Philippine cuisine extends
to the birth of roadside eateries known as karenderias. Cainta and Taytay are
pilgrimage towns, and these former Sepoys set up roadside stalls, serving
“kaari” to devotees on their way to their pilgrimage to Antipolo.
Pilgrims would dine along the way first to these “kaarihans”
where curry is served. Later, “eria” was added following the Spanish grammar.
Hence, “karenderia” means a place where there is “kaari.” At present, all towns
in the Philippines have karenderias (also spelled as karinderia or carinderia)
or small eateries along the streets serving affordable meals.
Different versions of kare kare
Kare kare itself evolved from the classic recipe with new
variants such as seafood and even “crispy” kare kare. Some recipes use oxtail
and beef, some only used pork. In Pampanga where the modern recipe was first
introduced, it is served during fiestas and special occasions taking pride in
cooking authentic kare kare – cooking its peanut-based sauce from scratch.
There are many dishes you must try before temporarily saying
paalam to the Philippines, but kare kare is available all over the country,
served in most Filipino family restaurants. Kare kare is not an everyday home-cooked
meal in the Philippines due to the level of difficulty and meticulous
preparation of its different ingredients. That is why this dish is a bestseller
among many restaurants – most Filipinos can only have kare kare when dining in
a restaurant. So the next time you dine in a Filipino restaurant, ask for a
serving of kare kare.
Source Internet
