Ube Halaya (Purple Yam Jam)

Ube Halaya (Purple Yam Jam)

Ube Halaya or purple yam or taro jam is the  most loved  Filipino dessert made of boiled or steamed and mashed purple yam, then cooked in milk and sugar. This dessert is not only eaten as dessert but also can be used as toppings, cakes, ice creams, bread and pastry fillings and many more.

 It's pretty hard to prepare halaya because it is slowly cooked gently over low heat while mixing strenuously to achieve the finest texture of purple taro or ube. It can also found on famous tourist souvenir shops.

This dessert somewhat became a Christmas icon for us back then. Our parents and relatives will prepare this dessert along with Leche Flan (a Filipino version of crème caramel) during Christmas and New Year's eve as a tradition. What lies behind that tradition I do not know, what I knew then is I will have a nice desserts during the Christmas and New Year's eve.

I am craving for this dessert for quite sometime now but could not find Ube in the market. This morning I am lucky, when we passed by at market after church I saw one of the stall selling Ube and without a second thought I bought right away. When we got home, cooked it right away and the result, craving satified!

 Here I used my small silicon moulds to shaped the cooked Ube for a change.Traditionally, it is shaped oval or circle and use the moulds also use for leche flan.

Cravings satisfied! 

Ube Halaya Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 kilo boiled Ube or purple yam

1 can evaporated milk

2 can condensed milk

1/2 cup sugar (optional)

2 tsp vanilla extract

250 grams Butter softened

Purple food coloring  (for enhancing the color)

Procedure:

1. Wash and clean the ube. Then boiled or steam for 30 mins or till the ube is soft and cook. 
2. Remove the ube from the pot or steamer and let it cool down.
3. Once, the ube is cool enough to be handled, grate and mashed it till achieved fine texture. Alternatively, sieved mashed ube to get a very fine texture.
   
    
4. Transfer the mashed ube on big bowl, then pour all the milk and mixed it till well blended. Or place the mixture in food processor or blender and blend till well blended (do it in batches if too much for your equipment to handle).
   
5. Pre-heat a non-stick wok, then pour the ube mixture.
6. Set the fire on medium to low and continuously stir the mixture. 
7. Once half of the liquid of the mixture had evaporated, add the food color mix then place the butter, and mix. Stir the mixture till you reach your desired stickiness or till the mixture is no longer sticking on the wok and clamp together.
   
   
   
   
   
8. Turn off the heat and transfer the ube on your desired moulds or container.
9. Cool it down or chilled it before serving.
   

Note:

1.  Slightly moist or with jam texture ube is good for toppings or spread.

2.  Sticky texture can eat by itself or as a filling on pie, tart, mooncakes or hopia.

Lumpiang Sariwa (Fresh Spring Rolls)

Lumpiang Sariwa (Fresh Spring Rolls)

Lumpiang Sariwa or Fresh vegetables spring roll is a local Filipino snack that normally served during gatherings and occasions like; reunions, birthdays, and fiesta (fiesta is an Spanish word meaning festival or party). Traditionally, in the Philippines this spring roll is made of "heart of coconut" it is the soft inner core of the coconut called "ubod", since it is very rare and difficult to find, mixture of different vegetables become the alternative. It is wrapped in a thin crepe pastry called "lumpia wrapper" which is made made of flour, egg and water.

On this recipe I am using a mixture of vegetables such as; cabbage, carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes and french beans. This lumpia is quite similar to fresh "popiah" or fried spring rolls popular in Southeast Asia.

I been using this recipe for very long time and it never disappoint me and always loved by my relatives and friends. A very good friend of mine, she would request extra wrappers if she knew that I will cook this, because she loves to eat just the wrappers only.

Making this recipe is very easy but you just need to have patience since you have cook the wrapper/crepe one at a time, but the effort at the end is worth it. 

Lumpiang Sariwa (Fresh Spring Rolls)

Ingredients: (6-8 lumpia)

Filling
1 ½ cup sweet potato, julienned
2 cups cabbage, julienned
1 ½ cup carrots, julienned
1 ½ cup Turnip, Julienned
2 cups string beans (baguio beans), chopped in strips
2 tbsp fish sauce (patis)
½ cup water
½ lb pork or chicken fillet, thinly sliced
1 cup shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 medium sized onions, chopped
Lettuce leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Wax Paper (Optional, for wrapping the wrapped lumpia to prevent from sticking to each other when stacking)

Toppings:
½ cup peanuts, crushed
3 tbsp garlic, minced

Wrapper:

1 cup rice flour

4 tbsp flour

4 pieces large eggs (5 medium size)

1 tsp cooking or vegetable oil

½ tsp salt

2 cups water

Sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ cup brown sugar
2 cups water
½ pork cube
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 tbsp corn starch (diluted in 4 tbsp water)

Instructions:

Cook the Filling

1.    Steam the shrimp and slice in strip and set aside.

2.    In a heated pan, pour-in the cooking oil then sauté the garlic and onions

3.    Add the pork or chicken and cook until color turns light brown

4.    Put-in the pork cube and add ½ cup water then simmer until meat is tender

5.    Add the carrots, string beans, turnip and sweet potatoes and cook for 5 minutes or until potatoes are soft

6.    Put-in the other ingredients and add the cabbage and let cook for 5 minutes

7.    Add the fish sauce, salt and pepper to taste and mix. Set aside

Make the wrapper

1.    Sift the rice flour, flour and salt altogether twice

2.    In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, oil and water.

3.    Mix the dry and wet mixture to form a batter. Mix thoroughly to get all the lumps out. It is a watery batter.

 

4.    Cover and set aside in a cool place for an hour or longer.

5.    Heat a non-stick frying pan and drizzle or spray a little cooking oil on it.

6.    Pour a littler batter (about 1/8 cup) and quickly swirl it around to make a thin pancake.

7.    You do not have to flip it to cook the other side and it should not brown.

8.    When the edges of the wrapper start to loosen the wrapper and looks like it has set, remove it from the pan.

9.  Continue till all the batter is used.

Make the sauce

1.    In a saucepan, pour the water and bring to a boil

2.    Add the brown sugar and pork cubes

3.    Put some salt and soy sauce then mix well

4.    Dilute the cornstarch in water and pour in the saucepan.

5.    Cook until the sauce becomes thick. Set aside.

Wrap the filling

1.    Place the wrapper in a plate then place a lettuce leaf in the middle top part of the wrapper.

2.    Spoon the filling and place in the middle of the wrapper (over the lettuce leaf) and add in some shrimps

3.    Close the wrapper by folding the lower part first then roll the sides until the filling is sealed

4.    Continue wrapping till all vegetables and wrapper are finished.

5.    Place the lumpia on a plate

6.    Pour the sauce over the Lumpiang Sariwa and garnish with crushed peanuts and minced garlic, before serving.

7.    Serve and Enjoy!

Note:

1. Use the wrapper immediately otherwise they keep up for a day in the refrigerator

2. It can be freeze also, just place a cling film or wax paper between the wrappers to separate them.