With Eggplant
After several days in the kitchen testing and altering recipes, I finally perfected my Vegan & Gluten-Free Filipino Peanut Stew (Kare-Kare) with Eggplant.
A traditional Filipino Filipino Peanut Stew (Kare-Kare) is essentially a peanut and vegetable stew seasoned with earthy annatto powder, garlic and soy sauce. This is a staple dish in many Filipino households.
This “Astig” Vegan & Gluten-Free Filipino Peanut Stew embodies all of the traditional complexity and flavors of this creamy hearty dish.
Get ready to dig in!


Filipino Peanut & Eggplant Stew
I wish you could smell this. You'll make this dish frequently because of eggplant, yum!
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups Jasmine Rice divided
- 1 Onion sliced
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Eggplant cut into 1" cubes
- 1 bunch Baby Bok Choy roughly chopped
- 2 Scallions sliced
- 2 tablespoon Peanuts chopped
- 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 3 tablespoon Tamari
- 1/4 cup Peanut Butter
Instructions
- Divide rice, reserving 3 Tbsp for the next step. Cook remaining rice according to package directions. In a bowl whisk together 1.5 cups warm water, peanut butter, and tamari, set aside.
- Add the reserved jasmine rice to a large pot over high heat. Toast the rice, stirring constantly, until it browns slightly and smells nutty, about 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the toasted rice to a food processor and pulse into a coarse powder.
- Return the pot to medium-high heat with 2 tbsp vegetable oil. Once hot, add sliced onion, minced garlic, and cubed eggplant.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant softens and browned, approximately 7 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and season with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Cook until the tomato paste is fragrant, approximately 1 minute.
- Add the toasted rice, tamari, peanut butter, and water mixture and chopped baby bok choy to the pot.
- Stir well to combine and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to heat to medium-low and simmer stew until thickened, approximately 6 to 7 minutes.
- Serve stew over jasmine rice topped with chopped peanuts and scallions.
Notes
ADD MORE FLAVOR: Serve this dish with vinegar, and chili paste.
*OIL: Instead of oil, I used vegetable broth and added as much as I needed to prevent burning.
**SERVING: This recipe yields 17 grams of protein for each serving.
***CREDIT: Recipe adapted from Purple Carrot.