Horchata de Ube

Finally combined horchata, my favorite non-alcoholic beverage, with my favorite flavor—ube.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of dry white rice

• 1 1/2 cup of warm water

• 1 1/2 tablespoons of ube flavor extract

• 1 or 2 cinnamon sticks

• 1 — 13.5 oz can of coconut milk

• 1 — 14 oz can of condensed milk

• 1 tablespoon of dry ube powder

• A few drops of purple gel food coloring

• 4-5 additional cups of water

Tip if the horchata isn’t sweet enough for your taste, you can add granulated sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired sweetness.

Preparation

In a medium to large plastic container (ideally with a lid), place your rice, warm water, ube extract, and cinnamon. Cover the container and leave it overnight (24 hours is best). The next day, place the ingredients from the container into a blender, add the coconut and condensed milks and the ube powder. Blend for a few minutes. Add the food coloring, mix with a spoon, and add 1 cup of water (if there’s room in your blender). Blend for another minute. Grab a large pitcher, place a sieve over it and begin to strain your horchata. This will help minimize the amount of rice pulp and coarse cinnamon pieces that go into the drink. You can blend the strained mixture again and repeat straining. *You can also add water to the pulp that remains in the blender, blend, and strain into the pitcher as well. Either way, add the remaining additional water into the pitcher and mix well with a wooden spoon. Let it chill for at least four hours, then enjoy a glass on the rocks. Here’s how I made mine.