Hold the phone. What exactly is UBE?

Ube is a starchy vegetable similar to your sweet potatoes that you usually see in markets. Though they look similar they are very different in taste and color. Ube usually has darker skin and a deep purple flesh, which gives this beautiful deep hue when cooked or used in recipes.

It originated in the Philippines but now this unique flavor is found almost everywhere. Ube taste kind of like a coconutty vanilla flavor. It’s kind of similar to what a pandan tastes like except I think it’s a lot nuttier.

I recently came across this Ube condensed milk in my local Asian market! It’s been sitting in my cabinet for a minute because I wanted to use it in a recipe, but I didn’t know which one. It’s hot AF here in SoCal and I’ve been making a lot of Horchata lately. And then it hit me! Why not try and Ube Horchata?!

So I did. The Ube flavor in this milk is very strong. Which I like, don’t get me wrong. However the purple coloring does concern me because it’s really, really, really dark. If you can’t find this condensed milk don’t worry, you can also use Ube extract which is easier to find.

As always the recipe is below!

Let’s Make an UBE Horchata!

Recipe by Jen H. DaoCourse: RecipesCuisine: Asian, fusion, mexicanDifficulty: easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 c uncooked rice

• 2-3 cinnamon sticks

• 4 c water

• Mix-Ins

• 4 1/2 c water

• 1 can evaporated milk

• 1 can ube condensed milk (or 1 tbsp ube extract)

• Ice

• Ground Cinnamon

Directions

• Soak the rice, water and cinnamon sticks overnight in the fridge.
• Blend mixture in 2-3 batches and push liquid through a strainer and cheesecloth. Discard rice.
• Mix in condense milk/ube extract, evaporated milk and water.
• Chill for at least 2 hrs and serve over ice. Garnish with cinnamon stick and powder.

Recipe Video