Kare-Kare

Method

1. Soak the oxtail in cold water for 30 minutes to draw out the blood, then put it in a 22 cm pot and cover with cold water. Boil on high heat for 5 min until grey scum rises, tip it into a colander and rinse each piece under running water. Wash the pot too. This quick blanch keeps the broth clean and free of strong odours.

   Add in this stepOxtail, cut into segments 700 g

   high heat

2. Return the oxtail to the clean pot with the water, the onion cut in half, half the garlic (whole cloves) and the salt. Bring to the boil on high heat, about 12 min, and skim off the foam. Turn down to low heat, set the lid ajar and simmer gently for 2 h 30 min. It is done when a chopstick slides in easily and the meat comes away from the bone. If the water drops below the meat, top up with a little hot water.

   Add in this stepWater 1.8 LOnion 1Garlic cloves 2½Salt 1 tsp

   high heat→low heat

3. While the meat simmers, toast the glutinous rice in a dry 18 cm pan on medium-low heat for 6 min, stirring all the time, until deep golden brown and smelling nutty. Tip it onto a plate, let it cool, then grind it to a fine powder in a mortar or spice grinder. Put the peanuts in a bag and crush them coarsely with a rolling pin. The toasted rice powder is what thickens the sauce.

   Add in this stepGlutinous rice (to toast and grind) 2½ tbspRoasted unsalted peanuts 40 g

   medium-low heat

4. Lift out the cooked oxtail and set it aside. Strain the broth, skim off most of the fat and keep 800 ml of it (save the rest for soup or rice porridge). Bring this broth back to the boil on high heat, blanch the long beans (cut into 6 cm lengths) for 2 min, then add the eggplants (cut into 5 cm pieces and halved lengthwise) and the bok choy (halved lengthwise) for 1 min 30 sec more. Lift the vegetables out while they are still bright and set them on a plate.

   Add in this stepLong beans or green beans 120 gLong Asian eggplants 1½Bok choy 2

   high heat

5. Heat the oil in a wide 24 cm pot or deep pan on medium heat and fry the remaining garlic, minced, for 1 min 30 sec until pale gold. Add the annatto powder and stir for just 10 seconds so the oil turns orange. It turns bitter if it cooks longer, so go straight to the next step.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil 1½ tbspGarlic cloves 2½Annatto (achuete) powder 1½ tsp

   medium heat

6. Pour in the blanching broth and whisk in the peanut butter until smooth. Sprinkle in the crushed peanuts and the toasted rice powder a little at a time, stirring, then add the fish sauce. Simmer on medium-low heat for 10 min, stirring often so it does not catch, until the sauce thinly coats the back of a spoon. If it gets too thick, loosen it with a splash of the saved broth.

   Add in this stepSmooth unsweetened peanut butter 5 tbspFish sauce 1½ tsp

   medium-low heat

7. Add the oxtail to the sauce and simmer on low heat for 6 min more so it soaks up the flavour. Spoon into a serving dish, arrange the blanched vegetables around the top and serve with the bagoong in a small bowl and hot steamed rice. The sauce is deliberately mild: each mouthful is seasoned with a little bagoong at the table.

   Add in this stepBagoong alamang (ready-to-eat sautéed shrimp paste) 3 tbsp

   low heat