Ube has taken over food and become the hipster ingredient. Which is cool because it is easier to source now. However, you have to be careful to buy the real thing and not a fake. Brands will put “Ube” on the packaging, but it will be Okinawan purple sweet potato, not the native Filipino purple yam. The Japanese sweet potato is delicious in its own right, but it is not the same. Buying it in powder form is a good choice for meals at home and on the trail, since you must cook ube before eating it (you can buy it fresh at Filipino stores and larger Asian stores), and, well, powdered is shelf-stable and ready to use.
Do not, though, buy the liquid Ube sold in small bottles. It is typically artificially colored and flavored. It is not what you want.
Coconut milk powder used to be very hard to get; these days, it is common. Even better, it is milk, not cream. It pairs well in so many trail meals and doesn’t overpower the other ingredients.
The ingredients.
Ube Oatmeal
Ingredients:
- ½ cup oats (see below)
- 2 Tbsp Ube powder
- 1 Tbsp coconut milk powder
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar or coconut sugar
- Pinch of fine sea salt
Directions:
Place all the ingredients in a sandwich or quarter freezer bag. Mark “Add 1 cup + 2 Tbsp” water on it.
In Camp:
Bring 1 cup + 2 Tbsp water to a boil, then add the dry ingredients and stir well. Lower the flame to a slow bubble. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, lowering the flame as needed. Remove from the heat and let sit for a couple of minutes to cool enough to eat.
Serves 1.
Notes:
You have a choice in this recipe – you can use quick-cooking oats or process old-fashioned oats through a mini food chopper to chop them up, and it cuts the cooking time back by a couple of minutes. Or if you prefer old-fashioned oats, just extend the cooking by a couple of minutes.
~Sarah