Description
Read before starting!
Making this recipe is simple, but very time-consuming. It consists of you constantly stirring the mixture for about an hour and a half. So block some time to cook this! Just as a warning, your arm will start to hurt by doing this. Ask someone to help you stir if you need a break. Also, prep yourself by having something to watch! 😀
Ingredients
Scale
- 115g (1 pack) – Powdered purple yam (dehydrated powdered ube), see notes https://amzn.to/3PiIsfT
- 2 1/2 cups – warm water
- 1 can (386ml) – vegan evaporated milk or full-fat unsweetened coconut milk (canned), see notes
- 1 1/4 cup – vegan condensed milk https://amzn.to/3uV6ky4
- 2 tablespoons – granulated sugar
- 1–2 tsp – ube extract, see notes https://amzn.to/3ROVUdo the amount will depend on the brand you use, adjust if needed
- Optional: Purple gel food coloring, must be gel not liquid, see notes https://amzn.to/3RMJdPU
- 1 1/2 tablespoons – vegan butter
Equipment:
- Wok or large heavy pot
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Wooden cooking spoon
- Liyanera (Filipino mold) or glass containers
Instructions
- Rehydrate the ube powder. In a pot, combine the powdered ube and water, and let it sit for 30 minutes to rehydrate.
- After 30 minutes, stir the mixture to incorporate the ube and water together.
- Start cooking. Turn the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Next, pour in the vegan evaporated milk (or full-fat coconut milk) and condensed milk, sugar, 1 teaspoon of ube extract (if needed add an additional teaspoon), and purple food coloring (if using). Mix to combine.
This is the point where you need to stir for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours continuously. This is to prevent the mixture to burn at the bottom and getting any uneven lumps. Do not leave this mixture unattended! Ask someone to help you stir if you need to be away from the stove.
If you want this to be a spreadable jam, cook it for less time, around 45 minutes to an hour.
- Once the mixture boils down to a thick, paste-like consistency, add in your butter, and continue to stir.
- The ube halaya will be done when the mixture is considerably thick and easily pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and prepare your container by lightly greasing it with softened butter. I like to use a liyanera (Filipino mold), but you can also use any container you’d like.
- Pour your ube halaya into your greased containers, level them off, and spread a little bit more butter at the top. Allow them to cool before serving! Enjoy!
Notes
- Powdered purple yam. You are looking for dehydrated powdered ube, see the ingredients list for the product link. I know there are ube flavored powders out there but do not get those! Those are not the same and will not work the same!
- Why dehydrated powdered ube? I find that powdered ube is more accessible and commonly seen at stores than frozen grated ube, especially here in the U.S.
- Vegan evaporated milk. I’m actually lucky enough that I live in an area where my grocery store makes its own soy evaporated milk. But lucky for you, it’s not that hard to make! Especially if you don’t want to use coconut milk.
- To make your own vegan evaporated milk, take 4 cups of unsweetened soymilk and pour it into a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Simmer, uncovered for approximately 2 hours, occasionally stirring, until the milk is reduced by half. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Use right away or refrigerate in an airtight container. If you plan to make you’re own evaporated milk, do this a day before making your ube halaya.
- Prep yourself for success. Making ube halaya is going to be time-consuming. You will need to continuously stir this mixture until the moisture has evaporated. Continuously stirring the mixture will help ensure that the bottom of the mixture doesn’t burn. So block off some time for this, get yourself something nice to watch, and ask someone to help if you if your arms start to tire.
- Do not turn up the heat. I know what may be thinking, “wouldn’t it be easier to turn up the heat to make this process go by faster?”. The answer is no. Your ube halaya can easily burn. So stick to medium heat, and be patient! Slow and steady goes it.
Keywords: vegan, vegan filipino recipe, vegan ube halaya, ube, ube jam, ube halaya, filipino recipe, dessert
