Saturday, November 20, 2010

the purple ubi badak

I have seen and tasted purple sweet potato before, but this ubi badak is definitely different. Ubi badak is popular in Kelantan, the state where I live now. People sell these everywhere, and they say ubi badak will develop fast and big during rainy season that we are experiencing now.  The price is RM3 per kilo. The other day I bought two, the purple  and the white one from nearby pasar borong. On colour alone, the purple ubi badak is very  appertizing.

ubi badak, ready to be skinned.

ubi badak halved.

peeled skin of ubi badak
to be added onto our new compost heap.

ubi badak cut into smaller bits

ubi badak after cooking or rather boiling in two bowls.
The colour is definitely exciting and it matches well with the taste.

Has anybody tried ubi badak before?

bangchik
tanah merah, kelantan, Malaysia


7 comments:

  1. Very interesting. I have not tried this yet, I will see if I can get some here. It looks odd but yummy

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  2. I regret that I have neither seen nor heard of your excitingly purple rubi badak...the purple is so intense, is the taste intense also? What wonderful color these would add to a recipe...is there any particular way that they are cooked? Will you be growing these in your new garden? Do they grow similarly to sweet potatoes?

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  3. I have to say it is unique ad I've never seen it before. Now however, I will look for it in local produce markets.

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  4. Nope, I haven't tried ubi badak before but purple sweet potato. I remember it to be less sweet.

    Speaking of food, have you tried Kelantan laksa already? They put plenty of fish meat... yummy!

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  5. Hi Bangchik, i learned again a common term for Malays and Filipinos, ubi. However, i'd like to correct that what is in your picture is not a sweet potato but a yam, a purple yam. I hope you don't mind, but i just want to straighten things. Sweet potato is Ipomoea batatas, while ubi or purple yam (there is also a white yam) is Dioscorea species. there are many species of yam and i think the purple one is D. alata, if i remember well. thanks.

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  6. Which ubi is it closely related? ubi kayu?Ubi Keledek?Ubi keladi?

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  7. fer: From the outside, ubi badak is very deceiving, carefully guarding the precious colourful content. It is yummy!

    Theanne and Baron: The taste is exquisite, and the intense colour is appetizing. We just boil the cut pieces and eat them just like that. It is quite sweet, like sweet potato. I dont know how the plant looks like. I think I am going to grow them here in my garden, and see what happens.

    Poetic Shutterbug: yes, unique colour, and to the British purple is royal colour.

    Steph: I havent tried laksa kelantan yet. I like nasi kerabu and nasi dagang though.

    Andrea: Thanks for the info about Yam. We generally call them ubi here, from ubi kayu (tapioca), ubi keledek ( sweet potato) right up to little things called ubi keling or kemili and ubi badak. People are selling these ubi everywhere in Kelantan especially where I live.

    Malay-Kadazan girl: Tastewise, ubi badak is somewhere in between keledek and keladi.

    ~bangchik
    tanah merah, kelantan Malaysia

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