This rich and comforting Filipino kare kare is a savoury peanut beef stew made with beef and vegetables in a creamy, nutty sauce. If you love satay or massaman curry, you will adore this recipe! I'll show you how to make kare kare quickly in the Instant Pot (just 30 minutes!) or slowly on the stovetop for deeply developed flavour. With simple ingredients, helpful tips and flexible swaps, this is an easy, mouth wateringly delicious Filipino dinner!
About Kare Kare
Kare Kare is a delicious Filipino peanut stew made with beef or pork with vegetables in a deliciously savoury peanut sauce. It is easy to make and absolutely delicious - if you love satay or massaman curries then you'll love kare kare! In the Philippines, if something is really really good they repeat the name and the name Kare Kare means a "really, really good curry." This recipe is from my family's lovely helper Del who is an amazing Filipino cook.
Beef chuck (top) and beef cheek (bottom)
Does kare kare take long to make? If you use oxtail and other secondary cuts, these typically take longer to cook but I am going to show you how to make it in a pressure cooker or instant pot so you can cut the cooking time significantly! I actually prefer this made in the instant pot because it only takes 30 minutes in it for the main part of cooking. Otherwise make this on the stovetop where it will cook for 2.5 hours.
Video How To Make Kare Kare
Video: How to Make Filipino Kare Kare
Ingredients For Kare Kare
Beef - Traditionally oxtail is used but you can also use beef chuck or beef cheek (my favourite!).
Oil - Any oil works here, I used extra virgin olive oil.
Garlic cloves - Fresh garlic cloves.
Onion - Red, white or yellow onion will work.
Beef stock cubes - Use stock cubes rather than stock to control the seasoning. Otherwise use salt reduced liquid beef stock.
Annatto - Annatto comes as either powder or seeds. It is also called achiote. This is optional for a richer colour but see tip below if you can't get annatto/achiote.
Fish sauce - I use a Vietnamese fish sauce.
Peanut butter - Smooth peanut butter is usually used for kare kare to give the sauce a creamy texture.
Long eggplants - Del used long Japanese eggplants but you can also use half a large regular eggplant too, cut into batons.
Beans - Del uses snake beans but they didn't have any at the shop so I used green string beans.
Baby bok choy - Baby boy choy is ideal for this as it is more petite and cooks quickly right at the end. You can also use bok choy, but cut it into quarters.
Sugar - My mother's trick when she cooked was to add some sugar to balance the salt!
Tips For Making Kare Kare
1 - Traditionally kare kare is made with oxtails but you can also make it with pork leg or shoulder. I love making it with beef chuck or beef cheek. Beef cheek is particularly good in kare kare and is my personal favourite. All of these cuts take a bit longer but they become so soft and melting once they're done.
2 - Other vegetables you can use are: kangkong or water spinach. I also think potatoes are wonderful with kare kare and give it a massaman type of feel. Broccoli is also nice in kare kare as it soaks up that sauce.
3 - Annatto powder is used to boost the colour of the stew but I've got a little tip for you if you don't have it. Just add 1 drop of red food colouring and 1 drop of yellow food colouring with the peanut butter! Annatto doesn't really add a flavour, it's just for colour.
4 - Making this in the instant pot means less evaporation as the vessel is sealed tight. If you make this on the stovetop just be prepared to add more water to it.
5 - When prepping the eggplant, cut into batons. When prepping the baby bok choy, keep the base intact so that it each half holds together.
Cooking time: 55 minutes (instant pot) to 3 hours (stovetop)
Serves: 6 people
Ingredients Needed
1kg/2.2lbs oxtail, beef chuck or beef cheek
1-2 tablespoons oil
12 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
5-6 cups hot water
2 beef stock cubes
4 tablespoons annatto powder or seeds soaked in 4 tablespoons hot water (optional)
3-4 tablespoons fish sauce to taste
120g/4oz/8 tablespoons peanut butter
2 long eggplants
2 cups/240g/8oz beans
4 baby bok choy
1-2 teaspoons sugar
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1a SAUTE STOVETOP- If using beef chuck or beef cheek, cut into large 2 inch pieces (if using oxtail, no need to do anything, keep whole). Heat oil in a pot on medium heat and brown the beef on both sides. Remove from the pan and then sauté onion until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so. Add 5 cups of hot water (reserve rest to add in later), beef stock cubes, fish sauce and strained annatto water (discard the seeds) and return the beef to the pot. Cook on low medium simmer for 2.5 hours but check every 30 minutes and add water if it needs it.
Step 1b SAUTE INSTANT POT - If using beef chuck or beef cheek, cut into large 2 inch pieces (if using oxtail, no need to do anything, keep whole). Set instant pot to saute and when ready add oil and brown the beef on both sides. Remove from the pot and then sauté onion until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so. Add 5 cups of hot water (reserve rest to add in later), beef stock cubes, fish sauce and strained annatto water (discard the seeds) and return the beef to the pot. Set to pressure cooker mode for 30 minutes.
Step 2 PREP VEGETABLES - Cut the eggplant in half lengthways and cut into diagonal pieces and place in a bowl of water. Top and tail beans and cut into 2 inch pieces. Cut bok choy in half.
Step 3 COOK VEGETABLES - When the beef is soft, add the peanut butter and stir adding in more water if needed. Add sugar to taste if needed. Then add the eggplants pieces and saute for 5 minutes. Then add the beans and saute for 3 minutes. Add the bok choy and saute for 4 minutes or until tender. Serve with steamed rice.
Personal Note
This is one of those wonderful recipes that just works every time. Savoury recipes are bit more forgiving than baking and I'm always a little surprised whenever I make this and such a simple combination of ingredients and a few tablespoons of peanut butter make such a powerhouse of flavours.
One thing that I had some trouble with recently was a sweet recipe. Specifically a lamb cake, you know the ones that are 3D lambs. Have you ever seen the memes about the lamb cake fails?
I actually made this cake 4 times. The problem is with the Nordic Ware mould which is strangely designed. Usually I love this brand and have several of their bundt tins but the lamb tin is unique. Normally with 3D cakes you have two halves but this one requires you to fill the cake mold and place the second half of the tin on top and there's a little steam hole and the batter it supposed to rise to fill the tin on both sides.
I couldn't get a recipe to reliably be reproduced; the first two overflowed badly. Then the third cake came out ok but wasn't quite perfect as it didn't rise to fill the tin so I thought I had the recipe almost right but the fourth cake overflowed out of the tin even though it was the exact same recipe as the third!
I should have just dusted the third cake with icing sugar which was my first instinct but instead I decided to decorate it with ermine frosting and stuck little mini m&m's in for eyes and a pink sprinkle for the nose. I wrapped it up in cling film ready for a dinner party the following night.
This morning I went to set the table where the lamb cake was and well my lamb cake was now a certified lamb cake fail! Its eyes were "bleeding" and I now have contributed to the graveyard of lamb fail cakes!
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever seen these lamb cake fails? Have you ever tried kare kare?
Kare Kare Filipino Beef & Peanut Stew Stovetop & Instant Pot Recipe was written by Lorraine Elliott and published on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 in
Delicious Recipes,
Filipino,
Pressure Cooker and
Beef Recipes.
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