Seafood Kare Kare Recipe

Seafood Kare Kare is a Filipino stew in peanut and coconut milk sauce with a variety of seafood and vegetables.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Filipino

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 55

Total Time 1 15

Servings people

Calories 387kcal

Ingredients

6 to 8 large shrimp cleaned
2 cooked crabs
6 to 8 pieces mussels cleaned and brushed
8 small squids cleaned
8 pieces of kabocha squash cut into 2 x 2
12 string beans tied in knots
1 small banana heart chopped
1 small eggplant chopped
½ to 1 cup of coconut milk (I used ⅓ of a 13.5 fl oz can)
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 teaspoon annatto powder (achiote)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
8 tablespoons cooking oil
3 cups crab broth (Note: I boiled the crabs and used this broth. You may substitute with water or seafood broth. When you cook the mussels add 2 cups of water. You can use the liquid from when you parboiled the veggies.)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Blanch all the vegetables except for the squash. Prepare a bowl with water and ice. Set aside.
Boil 5 cups of water and blanch the string beans, eggplant and banana heart. Cook each vegetable for about 4 minutes or until tender but crisp. Transfer the vegetables in the water and ice mixture. Keep it in the bowl until vegetables are cold. Remove from the bowl and set aside.
Heat 4 tablespoons of cooking oil in a pan.
Saute onion for 3 minutes.
Add garlic and cook until golden.
Fry shrimp, squid and mussel. Saute crabs. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add the peanut butter. Mix well.
Pour coconut milk.
Add annatto powder and grinded toasted rice or (substitute with cornstarch diluted in water or breadcrumbs) to thicken sauce.
Pour broth. I used crab broth.
Add squash.
Bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low.
When squash is almost done, add all the seafood and vegetables.
Simmer for 4 minutes.
Season with salt or fish sauce.
Serve hot with shrimp paste (bagoong).

Notes

1. I don’t add too much peanut butter or coconut milk as both ingredients are too rich. I like my sauce lighter (than nakakasuya in Tagalog). You may tweak these ingredients to your liking.

2. Cook the crabs as soon as you get it to avoid food poisoning. Also, boil the crabs with 2 cups of water. FYI, crabs also retain water. Reserve about 3 cups of broth.

3. If press for time, you may cook the veggies with the sauce just don’t overcooked it. Put all the seafood last and simmer for about 2 minutes and turn off the heat.

4. You can eliminate the coconut milk if you don’t like it or allergic to it.

5. To thicken sauce, I used toasted rice (grind). You may substitute with bread crumbs or 2 tablespoons cornstarch diluted in 2 tablespoons water.

Nutrition