I love Kare Kare but sometimes, for health reasons, and when we’re trying to avoid pork, I cook this Vegetarian Kare Kare Recipe with Tofu. I still get the creamy taste of peanut butter and peanuts with none of the cholesterol.
There’s a comment below that says that this is not a vegetarian kare kare recipe since it contains Alamang/ Bagoong. I apologize as it mostly becomes a habit for Pinay moms to refer to anything that has no meat as vegetarian. Sometimes even pinakbet or our version of vegetable stew is called vegetarian by virtue of it being mostly vegetables even though it has a bit of pork fat as “pang gisa”. I think it’s a cultural thing. To make this truly vegetarian, I suggest using the coconut bagoong which can be found in deli shops and health stores. You can use salt instead of patis or fish sauce.
(If you’re looking for the regular Kare Kare, head here: Slow cooked Kare Kare Recipe Mama Sita (Oxtail Peanut Stew).
Vegetarian Kare Kare Recipe with Tofu
Ingredients:
- Chinese Tofu cut up in squares
- Pechay
- Sitaw (String Beans)
- Banana Heart Blossom (cut up in 4 and pith removed) (Puso ng Saging)
- Mama Sita’s Kare Kare Sauce Mix (1 Sauce and 1 Powder) (Prepared according to instruction)
- Patis (Fish Sauce)
- Alamang Bagoong (Shrimp Paste) Original Guisado
- Garlic and Onions (cut up)
Instructions:
- Fry the tofu until golden. (I suggest cutting the tofu into small squares for ease of cooking unlike what I did in the picture below.
- Saute garlic and onion.
- Add Banana Blossom, and Patis. Cover and let wilt for about 5 minutes. Add string beans. Saute for about 3 minutes.
- Add Kare Kare Sauce Mix (prepared according to packet instructions). Let simmer.
- Add pechay and tofu. Simmer for another 2 minutes.
- Serve with Alamang on the side.
If you’re doing a low carb diet, Tofu makes this a filling dish and you can eat this dish alone without rice. I love the crunchiness of the pechay together with string beans.
