Pata Kare-Kare

Kare-kare is again one of the well known and popular Filipino dishes serve in special occasions but nowadays this can be served almost everyday if your budget permits and your health also. This kare-kare recipe is authentic because it uses oxtail as the main ingredient which is expensive compared to the other kare-kare variation that use only ox tripe, beef or pork knuckles. And this recipe use the traditional ground peanuts and toasted rice instead of peanut butter which are commonly used nowadays.

Pata Kare-Kare Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo pork pata (pork hocks), cut into 1 1/2 inch thick
• enough water to cover meat
• 2 eggplants
• 1 bunch sitaw (yard-long stringbeans)
• 1 bunch pechay
• cooking oil
• 1 head garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1/2 cup annato (atchuete) seeds steeped in half a cup of water
• 1/2 cup peanuts
• 1/2 cup and peanut butter
• salt to taste or patis (fish sauce)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Boil pork pata in water until the scum floats.

2. Remove the scum and put the quartered onion. Boil until tender.

3. Cut eggplants into serving pieces and the sitaw into 3-inch long pieces. Parboil both vegetables and the pechay in salted water, strain and set aside.

4. Saute garlic and onions in oil in a preheated pan. Stir cook for at least 3 minutes. Then place into the pot of boiled  pork pata. Mix well.

5. Strain atchuete from the water it was steeped in. Discard the seeds. Add the atchuete water in the pot. You will notice that the color of the broth will turn to orange.

6. Keep boiling and add ground peanuts and peanut butter. Add patis or salt to taste.

7. Add the parboiled vegetables. Bring to a boil for about 10 minutes.

8. You can also serve this dish with ginisang bagoong or sauteed shrimp paste.