Kare-Kare is one of the most famous Filipino traditional dish that I always have loved since childhood. Though I remember this dish as something special. "Special", meaning we have it on the table during fiestas, Christmas, New Year, birthdays, baptisms, house blessings, and so on. As I grew up, I realized why it is not an ordinary every day typical home dish. The pig's leg or pata as they call it wasn't that easy to soften to become chewable. The ultimate Pressure Cooker comes to the rescue to shorten the boiling time though the sad part is I don't have this here in Sg.
But moving abroad makes me a bit frustrated it is just so hard to cook this dish for the very reason that I don't have the luxury of time to cook this. But will it deprived me from wanting to impress my husband that I can cook this fiesta dish in a snap? No right? And so let me share with you how I solved this dilemma. Cooking Kare-Kare the easiest and the fastest possible.
Cooking time: 1 hour
Here are the ingredients:
Half kilo of pork belly cut into cubes (better than how I sliced the meat here).
8 cups of water
2 tsp of minced garlic
1 pc of sliced onion
7 pcs of pechay (bok choy leaves or can also use sio pek chye)
6 pcs sitaw (long green beans) - cut into atleast 2" in lengths
1 pc eggplant sliced into 1/2" lengths, ( if you have enough time you may also fry the sliced
eggplant in a separate skillet to bring out the sweetness)
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 pouch of Mama Sita's Peanut sauce (Kare-Kare mix) OR you may also use 1 pouch Del Monte Quick N Easy Kare-Kare Mix (these 2 mixes taste really good) dissolved in 1 cup broth.
2 tbsp Skippy peanut butter
bagoong on the side
Directions:
1. Boil the pork belly in water for 30 minutes lower the heat and wait until the meat is tender. Cut in cubes.
2. Set aside the broth.
3. In a heavy saucepan, pour the oil, saute the garlic and the onion.
Add in the pork belly and stir fry.
Then add the broth. Let it simmer. Then add the dissolved Kare-Kare mix.
4. Wait until the sauce thickens add in the eggplant and long green beans and then wait for 3 minutes to simmer. But if you already fry the eggplant, just put first the long green beans then after 3 minutes you may add the eggplant to avoid overcooking it. Stir occasionally. Add the 2 tbsp of Skippy.
5. Turn off the heat then on top placed the pechay (bok choy leaves) let the heat cook it, this way you can preserve its freshness and crunchiness. Wait for 3 to 5 more minutes. Serve hot with bagoong and rice.
Tip: Don't cover the pan let it stay uncovered until it gets cold in this way your Kare Kare will have a longer storage time. I have proven this my Kare Kare has a 5 day fridge life, no bubbles (an indicator of spoiled sauce) when being reheated.
Enjoy eating! By the way, my husband was impressed with my cooking hahaha!
Cooking time: 1 hour
Here are the ingredients:
8 cups of water
7 pcs of pechay (bok choy leaves or can also use sio pek chye)
1 pc eggplant sliced into 1/2" lengths, ( if you have enough time you may also fry the sliced
eggplant in a separate skillet to bring out the sweetness)
2 tbsp Skippy peanut butter
bagoong on the side
Directions:
1. Boil the pork belly in water for 30 minutes lower the heat and wait until the meat is tender. Cut in cubes.
2. Set aside the broth.
3. In a heavy saucepan, pour the oil, saute the garlic and the onion.
Add in the pork belly and stir fry.
Then add the broth. Let it simmer. Then add the dissolved Kare-Kare mix.
4. Wait until the sauce thickens add in the eggplant and long green beans and then wait for 3 minutes to simmer. But if you already fry the eggplant, just put first the long green beans then after 3 minutes you may add the eggplant to avoid overcooking it. Stir occasionally. Add the 2 tbsp of Skippy.
5. Turn off the heat then on top placed the pechay (bok choy leaves) let the heat cook it, this way you can preserve its freshness and crunchiness. Wait for 3 to 5 more minutes. Serve hot with bagoong and rice.
Tip: Don't cover the pan let it stay uncovered until it gets cold in this way your Kare Kare will have a longer storage time. I have proven this my Kare Kare has a 5 day fridge life, no bubbles (an indicator of spoiled sauce) when being reheated.
Enjoy eating! By the way, my husband was impressed with my cooking hahaha!
