Tamarind: Making Filipino Food More Unique

A tamarind is known in Filipino as sampaloc.  This is considered to be an important Filipino recipe ingredient.  Although the Tamarind tree originated in India, the tamarind has populated the various regions in the Philippines because of its unique taste.

Other cultures also use tamarind as common ingredient in recipes and can be found in products such as Worcestershire sauce.

Tamarind can be used in either of its form.  The unripe fruit is acidic and tart and is used in savory dishes.  The ripe fruit is used as a dessert and in sweetened drinks.

Soups use tamarind as a base and this is what gives sinigang its sour flavor.  Different candies are also made with tamarinds which are available in Filipino marketplaces.

The length is from three to eight inches of a typical tamarind.  The color of the pulp turns reddish-brown when the pods ripen.  Tamarinds are great components of Filipino cuisine.

Ube: A Filipino Food

Ubes, or purple yams, are commonly found in Filipino kitchens.  The violet-colored yams are used in different kinds of recipes.  They make cakes have a pleasant-looking violet color.

Experts in yams can differentiate the true Filipino ubes from those that are not.  The former has darker skink while the latter has lighter ones.

Some confuse yams as potatoes but it should not be.  Some think that purple Peruvian potatoes are yams. 

Filipinos are fond of preparing halayang ube as one of the most common ube recipes.  These combine milk,  ube, egg yolks, better, and powdered ube.

Ube balls are another great ube recipe that includes mashed ube, condensed milk, cornstarch, and water.  Low heat is used to warm the ube and condensed milk. 

Cornstarch and violet food coloring are added when the mixture is somewhat warm.  The mixture is stirred constantly until the mixture thickens.  The cooling of the mixture is the signal that it can be separated from the pan.