Is halo-halo even complete if it isn’t topped with ube? Would Noche Buena be complete without this staple Filipino holiday dessert? Are you even a Filipino if you haven’t even tasted this delicious purple dessert even once? With the holiday season just around the corner, our cravings are at an all-time high.
What is Ube?
Ube or purple yam is native to the Philippines. It comes from the Dioscorea or yam family which makes it rich in healthy carbohydrates, vitamins, and fiber. No one knows how or why exactly it became a Filipino staple dessert. But who are we to argue?
When seated beside our favorite holiday dishes, the bright purple color of ube makes it stand out. This turns the mere root crop to any scrumptious meal you can think of.
Here are our Top 5 dishes to try!
Ube Champorado
Champorado has gone a long way from just being just chocolate porridge. Flossom Kitchen + Cafe uses ube to give their champorado a nuttier flavor.
It’s topped with yema sauce and a generous amount of dilis—talk about a balanced sweet-and-salty meal.
Sinigang na Ube
Remember all those times you fell ill and all you needed was a sip of sinigang soup to feel better? Abé added something special to this already flavorful dish.
Not only does it give sinigang a purple color, but adding purple yam to the dish helps thicken the soup and adds sweetness. We’re pretty sure this will make you crave this twist on sinigang all the more.
Ube Puto
Puto is close to every Filipino’s heart—this is fact (trust us). It pairs perfectly with pancit or dinguan and it comes in different flavors to match your palette.
Michelle’s Putong Ube mixes galapong with ube to create puto that will definitely remind you of home.
Ube Cheese Tart
Who knew ube and cheese could go together? Regardless, now we know.
Paper Moon, a cafe well-known for their crepe cakes, jumped on the Japanese food craze a while back. They offer a cheese tart that avid yam-eaters are sure to love.
Ube Langka Gelato Pint
Manila Creamery’s gelato game is strong. Because they know what Filipinos want, they delivered ube langka gelato.
This is a must-try whenever you need to beat-the-heat.
Want to make your own?
We’ve got you covered: you need 5 ingredients, a lot of arm strength, patience, and the dedication to make this Filipino holiday-favorite.
Ingredients:
- 1 can of evaporated milk
- 1 can of condensed milk
- 1 kg of ube or Filipino Yam
- ¾ kg of sugar
- 1 whole butter cut in 4 equal parts (3 to be added to the mixture, 1 to be used to glaze the llanera
Directions:
- Boil for one (1) hour or until it softens.
- Peel each yam carefully. In a large bowl, grate until these are fine strands.
- Get a large kawa or cauldron and mix in condensed milk, evaporated milk, ¼ butter, and grated ube.
- Set fire to medium heat and stir for 20 minutes. Drop ¼ butter into mixture upon reaching the 20-minute mark.
(Here’s where things get exciting. Make sure you’ve never skipped arm day.)
- Stir the mixture slowly for an hour and add another ¼ butter. Mix it again for 45 minutes until the texture is fine.
- Lastly, glaze the llanera with the ¼ butter and pour in the ube mixture. Set it to cool at room temperature. Best served chilled.
Want to satisfy your cravings? Drop by our site and order away!
Featured image by Serghei Savchiuc via Unsplash.
Melody Osorio | Contributing Editor
Melody has been dancing since time immemorial. A gamer at heart, and a spontaneous type of watcher with a love for anime and tv series.