Chicken kare-kare

Name: Chicken kare-kare
Total time: 3600 s
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 6 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on, trimmed; 250 g choy mue, halved; 2 Japanese eggplants, sliced into 1 cm diagonals; 1 onion, chopped; 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 1/2 tsp ground cumin; 1/2 tsp cayenne powder; 3 tbsp fish sauce; 3-4 cups chicken stock; 2 bay leaves; 1-227 ml can bamboo shoots, shoestring cut or sliced; 3 heap tbsp smooth peanut butter (preferably unsalted)

Robert Gonzal @robert

Vancouver BC

Tonight's dinner of Filipino peanut stew was made by special request from my daughter. She actually asked for it yesterday, but because we already had a sushi feast ordered and on its way it had to be deferred to tonight. Normally I would've prepared beef kare-kare (short rib in particular; recipe posted previously). However, because time was short I used chicken thighs instead. Not as decadent, but so much faster. I also tried a few new techniques. First, to avoid the sauce turning runny from all the moisture in the leafy greens, I sauteed then first. Second, I also sauteed the eggplant ahead of time, to avoid them turning into mush and dissolving into the sauce. Third, I added some spices not normally used in kare-kare (and which would horrify my mother), on a hunch that they'd work. These were cumin, for extra earthy depth, and cayenne, for background heat. They worked brilliantly. The stew turned out delicious, and my little girl was happy. Perfect.

Robert Gonzal @robert

Saved

Ingredients

1 hr

3 servings

6chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on, trimmed
250 gchoy mue, halved
2Japanese eggplants, sliced into 1 cm diagonals
1onion, chopped
4 clovesgarlic, finely chopped
1/2 tspground cumin
1/2 tspcayenne powder
3 tbspfish sauce
3-4 cupschicken stock
2bay leaves
1-227 mlcan bamboo shoots, shoestring cut or sliced
3heap tbsp smooth peanut butter (preferably unsalted)

Saved

Steps

1 hr

1

Add a splash of veg oil to a large wok or medium pot (I prefer the wok, for its heat distribution) on medium-high heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and sear them until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a plate.
2

If needed (probably not), refresh the oil in the wok or pot, then add the choy mue. Be careful because it will splatter. Fry for about 2 or 3 minutes until they've wilted down, then remove them to a serving dish (not the same plate as the chicken).
3

Repeat the above step for the eggplant. Fry them until they're caramelized but not so far that they turn limp and mushy. This will take about 5 or 6 minutes. Remove them to the same dish as the choy mue.
4

Add the onion and garlic to the wok. Fry just until the onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cumin and cayenne and fry another minute, then turn on your stove vent and add the fish sauce. Return the chicken to the pot, skin-side up, then add just enough stock to submerge everything. Throw in the bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer until the sauce is reduced by half, which will take about 30 minutes.
5

Add the bamboo shoots to the pot and stir in the peanut butter. Simmer a final 5 minutes. The sauce should be thick and rich by this point. Remove the bay leaves and check the seasoning, then serve atop the choy mue and eggplant. Alternatively, you can add the choy and eggplant to the wok, but you'll run the risk of the eggplant disintegrating.