I just learned that the lovely TJs dry mix is a seasonal spring item i.e. 8 months away. Now I have every intention to try and replicate this treat at home. Has anyone ever made ube waffles at home? I found a recipe. I’m just wondering how hard it will be to source the ingredients (ube puree, ube extract). And whether it is better to go that route or try to find powdered ube (is that a thing?) like I figure TJs uses in its mix. Please share thoughts! I can’t bear to not eat these again until April.
I have purchased dried, ground ube and do not recommend it. It remained hard little granules in cookies I made. The ube extract is easily found in Asian markets and online. It is artificially flavored and colored, though. I would buy some ube “jam” from the Asian market and whisk a spoonful or two of that in with a drop of the extract. Are you planning to get the sweet rice flour for mochi texture?
I think yes. I have some white ground rice flour that I’ve used before for steamed rice noodle rolls, but I don’t think it’s the right thing for that chewiness? Or maybe it is, and it would come out different if waffled. And I’ve been thinking that it was the texture I really enjoyed so maybe I don’t even need the ube. Will try at some point and report back!
Thank you! I’ll look for those in my little Asian market and if not, next time we go to Seattle ie the big city!
Ube flavoring is artificial, of course, but it’s pretty spot-on compared to other “flavorings.” My Trader Joe’s is still carrying ube butter, and it’s fantastic. I own the cookbook Mayumu about Filipino desserts (modern and traditional), and she uses ube halaya (homemade or, for certain baked goods, she says store-bought holds up better) or crushed up ube pillow cookies. I have used ube powder a couple of times in Hawaiian-style mochi cake and had no issue with crunch, so the liquid content of your waffles may prevent that from being a problem. Cookies dough may be too dry to allow the powder to fully hydrate and incorporate.
Please report back about what works for you. Sounds delicious!
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Just agreeing with @ipsedixit that if you are making mochi waffles, sounds like you need mochiko, aka glutinous rice flour (sometimes called sweet rice flour). This is different from regular rice flour which doesn’t produce the same level of chewiness.
During Chinese New Year, I’ve tried to learn to make nian gao, which is a sticky chewy new year’s cake. I’ve seen recipes that call for all glutinous rice flour, and some that mix regular rice and glutinous. Even with a half mix, the dough and resulting cake want quite as sticky and chewy as what I wanted. So if you don’t want super soft and sticky, go with all glutinous rice, but you can try a mix of flours. All regular rice flour though might not get you the right softness.
With that, I’ve seen frozen ube in Asian markets. I would avoid the powdered stuff if you can.
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Is ube butter like apple butter such that I should look in the jams for it?
Yes, the ube butter is in the jams section at my Trader Joe’s.
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OMG! Yes, they told my kids it was seasonal. Is it possible to be seasonal in one region and regular in another? I wonder! I’d already bought the ube butter, and the glutinous flour. But haven’t had a chance to make yet because there were too many other things in the house to address first. We have been going crazy on produce and there is always something to eat and to cook and to freeze lately.
2 weeks ago, I saw a woman selling 2lb bag of mochi waffle mix at the farmers market for $16!!! Then again, I myself lost my mind a little and paid $18/lb for okra at the fm yesterday. It’s just super hard to grow here - not warm enough. My kid chewed me out for being fiscally irresponsible. He’s just mad that I told him I was not footing the bill for a $$$$ college that he saw in June and adored.
I’m happy to ship you some if your TJ’s turns out not to carry them til spring and the DIY isn’t satisfying.
Maybe send him this link https://finaid.org/about/contact/fafsa-independent-student/#:~:text=You%20can%20only%20qualify%20as,court%2C%20or%20an%20emancipated%20minor.
Seriously though…IMO college debt has more of an impact sometimes on your future than the name/experience of your alma mater. You’re wise to avoid sinking too much $$$$ into it. Prices are out of control.
They really are. H and I went to, and met at, a quite prestigious college, and we certainly have benefitted in our lives from the name recognition. However, at the time, both of our families qualified for financial aid. We do not, as our experience with kid 1 attests. But the state school here is outstanding. I think he will come around.
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You are amazing. I think it won’t come to that, but I appreciate the offer!
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