Ube Latte
Photo by Hannah Kaminsky
Ube is native to the Philippines, but relatively new to me! Ube has been used for generations in traditional dishes there, making ube lattes a celebration of Filipino culture. I received a bag of ube powder in my Christmas stocking this year, from my thoughtful daughter Alethea. She shared her tips on making this delightful beverage (that girl can cook!). Here’s my favorite take on it, after several attempts. I’ve found that if you use the right kind of ube, you won’t need any additional sweeteners, making this a wonderfully healthy, unusually satisfying drink for any time of day (or night!).
Ingredients:
1 cup nondairy milk, unsweetened and plain (we use Trader Joe's soymilk)
Ice
1 tablespoon ube powder (we use Purple Rooted brand), see note
1/4 cup hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Optional:
1/2 teaspoon blue spirulina powder
2 tablespoons additional nondairy milk
Directions:
1. Pour the one cup of soymilk into a medium-large (16-22 oz., ideally) glass. Add ice.
2. If using the optional blue spirulina, whisk the spirulina powder with the 2 tablespoons soymilk and set aside.
3. For this step, I use a matcha bowl and matcha whisk. However, you can also use a regular small bowl and wire whisk. Place your ube powder in the bowl and add the hot water. Whisk well, until no lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and lemon juice.
4. Pour the ube mixture over the iced soymilk.
5. To get the last bit of ube from the bowl, scrape it out with a spatula or add a little additional soymilk if needed. Pour over the top.
6. If using the blue spirulina mixture, pour that over the top. Enjoy!
Photo by Hannah Kaminsky
Note:
Not all ube powders are alike! I've tried this with purple sweet potato powder, thinking it was interchangeable for the ube. It was not! The flavor and texture was less smooth, and it wasn't sweet enough on its own. But if you do use the "wrong" kind of powder, no worries! Just add a little extra hot water to the purple powder to thin it down, and stir in a tablespoon of maple syrup to make up for the missing sweetness.