Pares (food)

Description

Beef pares is a meal composed of beef asado, garlic fried rice, and a bowl of beef broth soup. The soup may come from the broth used to simmer the meat before seasoning with sweet-soy sauce, or it can be prepared separately using beef bouillon cubes. It is typically seasoned with onion, garlic, peppercorns, chives, and onion leeks; some cooks add bay leaves.

A variation called pares kariton or pares kanto, served by mobile sidecar vendors, combines the beef and broth together, with the broth slightly thickened by cornstarch. This variant is less sweet and less spiced than the beef asado version, but more savory due to the use of beef tendons, bone marrow, and fatty cuts. Chopped green onion and fried garlic mince are often garnished on top. Steamed rice may replace fried rice according to customer preference, and some restaurants offer noodles instead of rice.

Another common form is beef pares mami, which combines pares with mami egg noodle soup, prepared similarly to pares kanto but with noodles instead of rice; its taste has been likened to Vietnamese pho. Pares overload is a recent trend serving pares kanto with fried pork lechon and chicharong bulaklak; a variant with whole stewed bone marrow is called pares putok-batok. This trend was introduced as early as 2021 and popularized by the sidewalk eatery Diwata Pares Overload in the first quarter of 2024, growing through social media.

Did You Know?

• The term pares literally means 'pairs' in English.
• Pares putok-batok is also known as 'heart attack pares' or 'high blood pressure pares'.