Kare-kare is an oxtail stew with a peanut base. It's a Filipino classic with a long cooking time but the Instant Pot will have it ready in half the time.
Combine in your Instant Pot the oxtail, five cups of water, onion powder and kosher salt. Pressure cook for 35 minutes and natural pressure release (NPR) for 10 minutes.
If you plan to skim some of the fat from the broth (I skimmed all but two to three tablespoons), let the broth and meat cool then refrigerate overnight. Skim as much fat as you want to remove the next day before continuing with the cooking process. If you don't wish to skim any of the fat, continue to the next step.
Note: Since I cooked the dish entirely in the Instant Pot I transferred the meat and broth to another container and cleaned out the stainless IP bowl before continuing to the sauté stage.
Blanch the eggplant, green beans and bok choy and set aside.
Using the stove top or Instant Pot (using the sauté mode) sauté the onion in the olive oil over medium heat. Add the fish sauce followed by 1/2 cup of oxtail broth infused with the annatto seeds (strain the seeds and discard--you don't add the seeds to the kare-kare). Add the oxtail and three cups of the oxtail broth and bring to a simmer.
Stir 3/4 cup of the peanut butter into another 1 cup of the reserved broth (remember we cooked with five cups of water) and add this to the pot. If you're using the ground rice you can add it at this time. Stir to fully incorporate the peanut butter into the stew. Taste and decide if you need to add the last 1/4 cup of peanut butter and/or more fish sauce. Add the blanched vegetables and serve with steamed white rice and shrimp paste.
Peanut Butter: Start with 3/4 cup peanut butter and taste before adding the last 1/4 cup. Since I skimmed most of the fat from my oxtail broth I didn't need a full 1 cup. Adjust according to your preference.
Oxtail Broth: Cooking the oxtail in five cups of water will leave you with roughly 4 1/2 cups of broth after you skim the solidified fat. You will need all of this for the final product: 3 cups to add to the pot, 1 cup to stir into the peanut butter and 1/2 cup to infuse with annatto seeds.
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