Tonight I tried making a Filipino oxtail dish called "Kare-Kare". A Filipina friend of mine clued me in to it with an Instagram post, so I figured I'd give it a go. It sounded good in the IG reel, and I was excited to try it.
The recipe I found had some neat stuff in it, like banana blossoms (my first time ever cooking or eating those). The recipe was fussy as all hell, though. Lots of steps, lots of cleanup. Two pots, two frying pans, 3 bowls, bunch of utensils. Oxtails, so a long cooking time, too. All for an end result that was just "okay".
First of all, it was a little bland. It had peanut butter as the main flavoring agent, with a little fish sauce, but the only spices were salt, pepper, and annatto. I feel like it could have used a couple of chili peppers to give it some zip. Second of all, the veggies were underdone. The recipe called to blanch them separately for a minute and then add them to the main pot for the last three minutes of simmering. That just wasn't enough time--for the eggplant in particular. Third and final, it called to boil the oxtails separately, then brown them in a separate pan, then put them into the sauce for about 15 minutes. They just didn't have enough time to absorb flavors from the sauce and, therefore, tasted like simple boiled beef with a little Maillard action on them. It was very colorful, at least, and had lots of fiber. I think I will strain the sauce, add some chilis, and use it to braise chicken thighs--make something adjacent to a West African groundnut stew.
As it stands, this falls under the "win some, lose some" column on my culinary score sheet.
Banana blossoms:
The recipe I found had some neat stuff in it, like banana blossoms (my first time ever cooking or eating those). The recipe was fussy as all hell, though. Lots of steps, lots of cleanup. Two pots, two frying pans, 3 bowls, bunch of utensils. Oxtails, so a long cooking time, too. All for an end result that was just "okay".
First of all, it was a little bland. It had peanut butter as the main flavoring agent, with a little fish sauce, but the only spices were salt, pepper, and annatto. I feel like it could have used a couple of chili peppers to give it some zip. Second of all, the veggies were underdone. The recipe called to blanch them separately for a minute and then add them to the main pot for the last three minutes of simmering. That just wasn't enough time--for the eggplant in particular. Third and final, it called to boil the oxtails separately, then brown them in a separate pan, then put them into the sauce for about 15 minutes. They just didn't have enough time to absorb flavors from the sauce and, therefore, tasted like simple boiled beef with a little Maillard action on them. It was very colorful, at least, and had lots of fiber. I think I will strain the sauce, add some chilis, and use it to braise chicken thighs--make something adjacent to a West African groundnut stew.
As it stands, this falls under the "win some, lose some" column on my culinary score sheet.
Banana blossoms:
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