Have you tried ube? The popular Filipino ingredient growing in popularity in the DMV

WASHINGTON — Pastry chef Rochelle Cooper wanted to make her “Dunk-a-boos” Halloween cookies fun and unique. To her, there was an obvious and beloved ingredient to use: ube.

The RAMMYS Pastry Chef of the Year recipient has been using the popular Filipino staple for her to-go ice cream, but as someone who enjoys incorporating Asian ingredients, ube has been prominently used in other dessert items.

“I like flavors that are surprising, that’s different, and that people don’t expect, and I attach them to something familiar to give them an avenue and try something new,” Cooper told WUSA9. “We have a lot of Filipino staff members and when I ask what their flavor is, ube came up several times so it was something we had to do.”

Ube is a tuber or yam native to the Philippines, typically used in a variety of desserts because of its nutty flavor.

Cooper was guided to use ube by Eastern Point Collective Executive Chef Katarina Petonito, which she oversees several restaurants including La Collina and The Duck & The Peach in Capitol Hill. 

Petonito wanted to pay homage to her Filipino upbringing and her mother’s former bakery in Maryland. The restaurants have featured other Filipino desserts beyond ube.

“I love them, and they’re so engrained in me,” Petonito said. “When I was young, I was looking for this stuff everywhere. Now, every corner you turn you can find ube.”

If you were to look back 20 years ago, ube was a less widely known ingredient reserved in strictly Filipino businesses. In recent years, the popping color of ube and the explosion of social media content helped elevate its popularity, including in the DMV.

Trend forecaster WGSN predicted ube as the “super influential flavor” of 2023. Hasegawa USA also called it the flavor of 2024.

However, there are questions what the idea of being a trend or “Instagrammable” means for a cuisine and heritage that’s not as mainstream as other cultures.

“To hear someone call it a trend, there's a negative, ‘Oh, it's going to be cool for a little bit,’” Petonito said. “For me it's never a trend. It's always going to be a staple. It's always going to be my heart.”

Like in many Asian food scenes, ube is an ingredient that comprises a tiny fraction of Filipino food.

Pushing through the prolific Chinese, Thai, Korean and Vietnamese dishes already steeped in American food profiles, Hiraya Café and Kayu by Hiraya on H Street hope to elevate Filipino food.

Chef Paolo Dungca is taking ube away from sweet treats to more savory dishes. For example, his menu includes a pork tocino burger with an ube bun.

“It's always going to get its popularity based on the color, but I think it's a versatile product that any cuisine can use it, not just Filipino,” Dungca said.

“People think Filipino food is a trend, but I think we're starting to really hit mainstream America with the abundance of Filipino chefs in The States,” he added.

There are plenty of other restaurants across the DMV that feature ube on their menus. On the other hand, Filipinos and business owners hope with the fandom, people unfamiliar with Filipino food can be exposed to many other dishes.

Rosie Nguyen, Rose Ave Bakery owner in Northwest, said her ube treats have become an educational opportunity.

Her husband and business partner are Filipino, so, sourcing ingredients from proper places and vendors are important.

“It's so easy for us to educate in the most delicious way possible,” Nguyen told WUSA9.  

October is also Filipino American History Month. Filipinos make up the second largest Asian American population in the country.

Congress designated this month in 2009 to commemorate the first Filipinos to arrive in the 1500s.