Kulinarya June - Only in the Philippines

Late yet again……

A little background about me - I was born in the US and never been to the Philippines.  Unfortunately, I had limited exposure to tradition Filipino cuisines.  My parents did not really cook too much traditional dishes.  The Father loved to try a variety of foods and try (I stress the word try) replicate it.  That is probably where I get it from.  It wasn’t until our favorite bakery closed that The Mother started to experimenting and learning the different treats we used to get at the bakery.  Her first attempt was Pan de Sal.  If you remember my experiment in perfecting my version of pan de sal, The Mother went through the same thing with her recipe.  For some reason I could not get her recipe right, I have no idea why. 

This little story leads us into this month’s theme for the Kulinarya Cooking club…….

Only in the Philippines

Brought you by our hosts - Cherrie of Sweet Cherrie Pie & Tina of Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner.

For my take of a dish only found only in the Philippines, I went with Ube Halaya (at least my version).  I defrosted the froze ube from the store and went to search for The Mother’s recipe (my favorite version) and I came to realize I don’t have it.  I swore I did but after the move, I can’t find a thing at home.  I tried to replicate the recipe by memory.  I may or may not get a call when I post this since to my amazement The Parents read my blog. 

Ube Halaya

1 Package of defrosted Ube (500 g)

½ Package of defrosted Grated Cassava (250g)

1 Can of Coconut Milk (16.5 Oz)

1 Can of Condense Milk (10 Oz)

1 Tsp of Salt

1 Tbs of Butter

Directions

1. Take all of the ingredients and place in a blender.
2. Puree it until it is smooth
3. Pour into a large skillet, you could use a wok.
4. Put it on a low heat to cook.
5. It needs to be stirred frequently to make sure all of the mixture gets cooked and to prevent burning.  
6. The mixture will become thicker as it cooks. 
7. It is cooked once the ube holds its’ shape (This is how I measure it).
8. Put it on a serving platter and immediate cover in butter.  It will melt immediately. 
9. Prepare the latik

Latik

1 Can of Coconut Milk

Directions

1. Pour the coconut milk in a small sauce pan on a medium heat.
2. In about 10 minutes the coconut milk starts on brown.  Make sure you are stirring it to prevent burning. 
3. Slowly, the coconut milk will become brown and crunchy.
4. Once all of the coconut milk is cooked, remove from the heat and place the latik on a paper towel to drain the oil.
5. Top it on the ube and serve.