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Ube halaya
Purple yam jam cooked down with coconut milk and condensed milk
Ube halaya is a thick, deep purple jam made from purple yam, slowly stirred with coconut milk, condensed milk and butter until it pulls away from the pan. Bohol, where ube grows in abundance and the province holds a festival for it every January, claims it, and in Baguio jars of it are bought as pasalubong (gifts) to take home. It appears at Christmas and fiestas, spread on bread, eaten by the spoonful, packed into halo-halo or shaped in moulds and topped with latik or grated cheese. Real ube has a gentle, nutty, vanilla-like flavour; purple sweet potato is not the same. Chef's tip: frozen grated ube from Asian grocers works perfectly and saves an hour of peeling and grating.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Butter a 20 cm shallow dish or a few small moulds and set aside.
Step 2: Put 2 ¼ lb grated purple yam (ube), 1 ¾ cups coconut milk, ¾ cup evaporated milk and ¼ tsp salt in a large heavy-based pan or non-stick wok and stir over a medium heat until it begins to bubble, 5 minutes.
5 minStep 3: Add 14 oz sweetened condensed milk and 1 oz butter, then turn the heat to medium-low. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon or spatula, scraping the base. The mixture will splutter, so wear an oven glove.
5 minStep 4: Keep stirring for 25–30 minutes. Taste after 10 minutes and add 1 ⅜ oz sugar if you want it sweeter. High heat is the common mistake: the bottom scorches, brown flecks appear and the jam turns grainy.
30 minStep 5: Add the remaining 1 oz butter in the last 5 minutes. It's ready when the mixture is very thick and glossy, pulls away from the sides in one mass and a spoon dragged through leaves a clean trail.
Step 6: Spread it into the dish or press into moulds, smooth the top and cool completely. Chill for at least 2 hours to firm up. It keeps for a week in the fridge.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 310 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ube halaya take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of coconut milk?
- Single cream, same amount (not dairy free).
- What can I use instead of sweetened condensed milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
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