Delicious Ube Halaya Recipe

Filipino Ube Jam

Not to be mistaken for the purple sweet potatoes, ube comes from the purple yams. In my experience, purple yams are hard to come by at my local Asian markets. Heads up, many produce bins will be labeled as purple yams when they are really sweet potatoes. Good thing for us, most markets will have the Tropics brand Frozen Grated Purple Yams. This is perfect for our Delicious Ube Halaya Recipe. It will cut out much of the cooking time and save you from buying the wrong ingredients.

It is possible to make halaya with purple sweet potatoes but the cooking process to make ube halaya is time consuming as it is. Trust me, using the frozen variety is so much easier and faster. Be sure to get the Tropics brand from the Philippines. In a bind, one time I purchased frozen grated purple yams made from another country. Needless to say, it was completely different.

While you are in the Philippines aisle, at the Asian Market, McCormick Ube Flavor is optional but I recommend getting a bottle. I’m not sure how purple you want your Ube Halaya, so having a bottle handy will be beneficial. I like to use my Ube Halaya as a filling or an addition to batter, so I like making mine a bit darker than what you would get out of the yams alone. Without the Ube Flavor, you will still get a nice, light purple halaya.

Delicious Ube Halaya Recipe

The Ingredients

When you are holding that freezer door open, after grabbing your Tropics Frozen Grated Purple Yams, reach in again and grab a Tropics Frozen Coconut Milk. It might be hard to tell, but for both products, make sure you pull the Asian move and grab one from the back or be sure that you don’t get ones that might have a punctured packaging. They’re the ones that might have a kinked front or back, due to being sagged over before freezing.

Also, sometimes the packages in the front get dropped to the floor, multiple times. Usually it is because us Asians are grabbing the ones in the back. As they defrost at home, you don’t want to lose any of it or make a mess in the fridge. Especially with the purple yams. Don’t forget to grab a bottle of McCormick Ube Flavor, just in case. This is the only brand that is available to me. I am sure that there are others.

I usually have sticks of butter and sugar at home already. Grab these if you do not have them. I don’t tend to buy Sweetened Condensed Milk at the Asian Market. I more than likely can get it cheaper at my local grocery store. Not to mention, it will be a hit or miss if the Asian Market will have Heavy Cream. So there’s two reasons to go to the grocery store as well. You probably have some Canola Oil at home to grease up your mold. Other than that, you are ready to for the Delicious Ube Halaya Recipe.

Instructions

Luckily, there really isn’t a definitive order to combine the ingredients. Your goal really is to get everything mixed well and mix consistently. Empty both defrosted ingredients in a big enough sauce pan to hold all of the ingredients. Again, you will be mixing quite a bit so smaller pot will more than likely generate some mess. Turn on your burner to a medium heat. Be sure to do this after you empty the contents of the yams and coconut milk. Sometimes it can take awhile to squeeze or scrape out all of the contents.

Now that the pot is warming up, go ahead and add the butter, sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream. All of your liquids are accounted for, so pour in your sugar and mix the contents well.

At a medium heat, your contents should be pretty and showing signs of a pretty good boil coming on. Once your butter is melted, turn down your heat to a low. On my stove I go as low as 2.

Stretch Your Legs and Loosen Up Your Arms

At this heat your contents should still show signs of a slow boil. Here is where the fun begins. I did say that the process for Ube Halaya is time consuming. Get ready to dedicate the next 40 – 45 minutes to this pot.

It’s important to not let it sit too long, without stirring. This will obviously cause some burning and you don’t want traces of burn taste in your Halaya. Allow it to come to a boil, then scrape stir for a couple of minutes. Using a silicone spoonula type spatula, scrape around the sides then mix. Scrape the bottom then mix. Do this for a couple of minutes. Let it come to a boil again and then repeat the process. You are going to do this for the next 45 minutes. 30 minutes will probably suffice. I just got he extra 15 to ensure a good mix and thickness.

Just About Done

When you are done, turn off the heat and begin the cooling process. At this time, assess your purple. If you want it darker, only add a couple of drops of the Ube Flavor at a time and then mix well. Remember, you can always add another drop, but you cannot take away drops. Go easy, it’s pretty potent. When you are happy with its tint, allow it to cool to room temperature.

Grease up your mold for an easy release. Releasing it from you mold gives it a nice presentation. If you are using your Ube Halaya as a casual spread or as an additional ingredient in other recipes, you can opt to put it in a Tupperware container. Refrigerate until firm, if you are making a mold. If not, you can enjoy it now.

To release it from the mold. Run a butter knife along the edge of the pan, to release the sides of the halaya. Place a plate over the mold, ensuring that the plate covers the whole mold. Flip it over so the mold can sit upside down on the plate. Give it a minute and gravity will take over.

Enjoy and feel free to send us pictures of your creation from our Delicious Ube Halaya Recipe! 

Masayang Pagluluto!

Kain na tayo!