Kare-Kare: Filipino Oxtail Stew in Peanut Sauce

When the peanuts hit the pot, it's time to cook the rice

On a kare-kare day, the air in the kitchen shifts partway through. While the oxtail simmers quietly, the smell from the pot is fairly restrained. But the moment you stir unsweetened peanut butter and toasted rice flour into the annatto-tinted broth, a toasty aroma rushes up all at once.

When Filipino families sit down to kare-kare, there is white rice beside it and a small dish of bagoong. The sauce itself is surprisingly gentle. It is deeply colored but not spicy, and not very salty either. So you add the fermented shrimp paste, bagoong, a little at a time, working it into the rice as you eat. That way of eating, not finishing the dish completely in the pot, is what makes kare-kare kare-kare.

Kare-kare (also kari kari) is a Filipino stew of oxtail, beef shank and sometimes tripe, cooked for a long time and then combined with a sauce of peanuts, toasted rice and annatto. It is often described as a "Filipino peanut stew," but it gets its depth not from the roundness of dairy, as a cream stew would, but from nuts, beef broth and the savoriness of a fermented condiment. Think of it that way and you'll get much closer.

Lined up with other Filipino dishes, it sits on the opposite side from sour sinigang or adobo (in Japanese), which is braised in soy sauce and vinegar. It doesn't lean too far toward sour, spicy or sweet. It's a soft sauce to which you add the salty bagoong yourself.

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Background: more interesting when you don't pin down one origin

When it comes to where kare-kare came from, it's more honest not to declare a single answer. Commonly told stories include one that credits cooks in Pampanga, one that says it began as a curry brought by Indian soldiers during the British occupation in the 18th century and was then localized, and one that links it to the kari traditions of the southern Philippines and the wider Malay world.

The government-run Philippine Information Agency, reporting on food history research presented at KainCon in 2024, describes kari kari as "a Filipino dish with an orange-brown sauce made from annatto oil, rice flour and peanuts." Rather than treating a Pampanga origin as the only correct answer, the article stacks several layers: the British occupation of Manila from 1762 to 1764, the Indian sepoys, and the karihan, small eateries that served kari.

Serious Eats' recipe likewise notes up front that the origin is uncertain, then focuses on the use of oxtail and tripe, the way the vegetables change by region and season, and how peanuts and annatto show the adaptability of Filipino cooking. That is the key hint for cooking it at home: rather than importing every "correct" ingredient, understand which pillars to protect, then substitute.

On Filipino tables, kare-kare appears both on special occasions and at ordinary family meals. Still, it needs time to make oxtail tender, so it isn't something to start from scratch after work on a weeknight. Simmer it on the weekend and reheat the sauce the next day, or shorten the prep with a pressure cooker. Seen that way, it becomes quite realistic for a home kitchen.

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Ingredients (serves 4): built on oxtail, made practical with beef shank

This makes one large platter for 4. Using only oxtail gives a stronger aroma and more gelatinous body, but it raises the bar on price and availability. 500 g oxtail plus 400 g beef shank is an easier mix, and the sauce still gets plenty of savoriness.

Ingredients and equipment for this dish

Oxtail often isn't on the shelf at an ordinary supermarket, so once you pick a cooking day, secure the meat first. Combining it with beef shank keeps the cost down and makes the simmering time more predictable.

Annatto isn't a spice that adds heat; it's the ingredient that gives kare-kare its orange color. Paprika can approximate the color, but if you want the aroma closer to the original, use annatto.

Avoid peanut butter that contains sugar or honey. A sweet product pushes kare-kare toward a dessert-like aroma and throws off the balance with the bagoong.

Bagoong divides opinion, but in kare-kare it's less a part of the sauce than a partner that adds salt right before you eat. A small jar is plenty; look for it at a Filipino or Asian grocery or online.

If you make braises often, a heavy pot or a pressure cooker makes life easier. Even with a pressure cooker, finish the sauce at the end in a separate pot, checking the thickness as you go.

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Method: handle the beef broth, rice flour and vegetables separately

If you simply simmer everything in one pot, kare-kare turns heavy. Make the meat tender on its own. Dry-toast the rice flour before dissolving it. Keep the color and bite of the vegetables. Separating these three keeps the peanut sauce rich without becoming tiring to eat.

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Substitution guide for getting close to the original in a home kitchen

From the list of ingredients alone, kare-kare looks difficult. But the things you actually have to protect are few: beef broth, peanuts, the orange color and the fermented saltiness added at the table. Keep those, and even with regular supermarket ingredients it still works as kare-kare.

The one thing you should not substitute is sweetened peanut butter. Sweetened peanut spreads meant for toast are high in sugar and fat, and in a savory dish the sweetness comes forward. Choose one whose ingredients are little more than "peanuts, salt," and avoid anything with sweeteners.

If you don't care for bagoong, it's better not to stir it into the pot. Put it in a small dish so each person can add a little at a time. This also makes it easier to share the same pot with family members who aren't used to Filipino food. If you want heat, mix a little chopped chili or lemon into the bagoong. If you'd like to use up the bagoong in a vegetable dish too, pinakbet (in Japanese), with squash, eggplant and okra cooked down in a little liquid, is an easy next dish.

Many Filipino dishes, like pancit canton (in Japanese), are shared from a big platter, but kare-kare is especially a dish where each person sets the seasoning on their own plate. Pour the sauce over rice and start with a dab of bagoong about the size of 2 or 3 grains of rice, and the saltiness won't suddenly overwhelm you.

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Why it goes wrong: avoiding gritty, sweet and heavy

Kare-kare goes wrong in thickness more than in seasoning. If the sauce is loose, it won't cling to the meat and vegetables; if it's too thick, the rice flour turns it pasty, and it gets heavier with every bite.

Serious Eats explains that toasting the rice flour brings out a toasty flavor while also making it easier to avoid an overly thick sauce. The step pays off at home too. Compared with adding the flour straight to the pot, dry-toasting it and then dissolving it in broth gives a much calmer texture.

Kawaling Pinoy also mentions dry-toasting raw rice and grinding it if you don't have rice flour. Rice flour is easier at home, but on days you want a stronger toasty note, you can dry-toast 3 tbsp white rice and grind it in a spice grinder or mortar. If the grind is coarse, sift it through a strainer before using so the sauce stays smooth.

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Storage and reheating: keep the vegetables separate for good leftovers

Kare-kare's sauce settles and tastes better the day after you make it. But if you leave the vegetables in, the eggplant soaks up too much sauce and the bok choy loses its color. If you plan on leftovers, store the meat and sauce separately from the vegetables.

Refrigerate for 2 to 3 days. Once it has cooled slightly, transfer it to shallow containers and get it into the fridge promptly. It's a rich sauce of beef and peanuts, so don't leave it at room temperature for long. If freezing, freeze only the meat and sauce, and blanch fresh vegetables next time. Plan on about 1 month for the frozen sauce.

To reheat, put the meat and sauce in a pot over low heat and loosen it with broth or water, 2 tbsp at a time. Reheating only in the microwave tends to leave parts of it stiff, so a pot is better if you can. Add the vegetables back at the end just to warm them.

The easiest next-day meal is kare-kare over rice. Spoon the sauce over firm-cooked white rice, add a little bagoong and just a squeeze of lemon or another tart citrus. The acidity loosens the richness of the peanuts. Shredding leftover beef shank and serving it as a small side next to lumpiang shanghai (in Japanese) also works well.

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Variations and menus: oxtail isn't the only answer

Oxtail kare-kare feels like a feast, but as Filipino home cooking it leaves room to change the meat. Chicken, pork trotters, pork shank, seafood, tofu: any of them can carry the peanut sauce.

Chicken thigh kare-kare

Use 800 g bone-in chicken thighs instead of oxtail. The simmering time is only about 30 minutes. Since you lose the depth of beef broth, reduce the peanut butter to 80 g and use chicken stock for a lighter result. This version is handy when you want it closer to a weeknight dinner.

Budget version with beef shank only

Skip the oxtail and use 900 g beef shank. If it lacks gelatinous body, add 200 g beef tendon. You lose the aroma from around the oxtail bones, but it's easy to cut and easy to eat. This version is perfectly good for a first try.

Tofu and vegetable kare-kare

Press 2 blocks of firm tofu, cut them into thick slices, and sear the surfaces before adding them to the sauce. Skip the fish sauce and bagoong and use 2 tsp miso and kombu dashi for savoriness. It won't taste exactly the same, but it works as a peanut and vegetable stew. If someone has a peanut allergy, don't make kare-kare; switch to a different dish.

Building a Filipino menu

Kare-kare is mild yet rich, so adding something sour and something fried tightens up the table. For soup, a small serving of sinigang. For something fried, a few lumpiang shanghai (in Japanese). For noodles, a platter of pancit canton (in Japanese). On days you crave heat, moving on to Bicol express (in Japanese) takes the same Filipino table in a different direction.

If you want something sweet afterward, the glutinous rice dessert sapin-sapin (in Japanese) is a perfect match. The sweetness of coconut and sticky rice slowly closes out the richness of the peanut sauce.

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FAQ and sources

Can I make kare-kare with curry powder?

No. The name sounds like curry, but the flavor centers on peanuts, beef broth, toasted rice and annatto. Curry powder pushes it toward an Indian- or Japanese-style curry and hides kare-kare's gentle nuttiness.

What can I use if I can't find oxtail?

A combination of beef shank, beef chuck and beef tendon works well. With shank alone, use 900 g; 700 g shank plus 200 g tendon gets closer to the gelatinous body. You can also make it with pork trotters or pork shank, but the aroma changes quite a bit.

Can I eat it without bagoong?

You can, but it won't taste as much like kare-kare. If you don't have a shellfish allergy, start by setting out just 1 tsp and try a tiny bit on your rice. If you can't use it, make up the salt and savoriness with a few drops of fish sauce, a little miso and a little lemon.

Which peanut butter should I choose?

Choose an unsweetened one, ideally with a high proportion of peanuts. Avoid sweetened, chocolate, whipped and "peanut cream" spreads. With a sweet product, the flavor won't come together even after you add bagoong.

Can children or people who don't like spicy food eat it?

Basic kare-kare isn't spicy. Add heat by mixing chili into the bagoong, or later at the table. For children, serve the bagoong in a separate dish, keep the salt in the pot light, and serve it with white rice so it's easy to eat.

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Kare-kare isn't a dish that surprises you with fiery heat. Beef broth, peanuts, rice flour, annatto, vegetables, bagoong: each plays a slightly different role, and it finally comes together on top of white rice. For your first time, don't hunt too hard for oxtail; try it with some beef shank mixed in. When the sauce starts to turn glossy in the pot, the Filipino platter is suddenly within reach.