Ube is a purple sweet potato from the Philippines. It is used in many Filipino treats and desserts all in the lovely form of ube halaya, AKA ube jam. Ever since leaving my parents home, ube was definitely one of the Filipino foods I missed. I had a tough time finding Ube Halaya or the purple sweet potato. So I asked Inay (mother) how to make ube and she told me to buy ube, cook it, and mix it with coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk. Very helpful, but isn’t that how Asians cook though? It’s all very matter of fact.

So without much information, I tried to find ube. The first time I bought a purple sweet potato, I doubted the clerk at the Asian market who pointed it out to me because I was expecting a purple-skinned potato, not some beige thing. So I was surprised to cut open the sweet potato to find a purple and white flesh. I got excited. Then I got even more excited after steaming the sweet potato. It was completely purple! Any science people out there who wanna explain this phenomenon? Please and thank you. But look at it, isn't it beautiful?!

I’m sorry Asian market clerk, for doubting you.

My mom got one thing right about making ube halaya — it takes very few ingredients to make. Knowing I wasn’t going to get more information from Inay on how to make ube jam, I got this Filipino cookbook,I Am a Filipino and This is How We Cook, by Nicole Ponseca and Miguel Trinidad. Now I have jars and jars of ube halaya that I keep in the freezer (I think the average time one freezes veggies is 3 months so fingers crossed that works for ube halaya. You should definitely get your hands on this cookbook and support Filipinos. I get no commission from this. I’m just a Filipina-American who’s really excited to finally have access to written Filipino recipes that I grew up with. Comment below if you’re Filipino and your parents taught you to cook by telling you to just watch and then they make the dish and when it’s done they say, “And that’s how you make it.” This book also has so much history on our food — the Spanish, Chinese, Arab, and American influence. It’s a gem! Now that I have access to made-from-scratch ube jam (and now that I know what the actual ube vegetable looks like), I'm gonna be making my favorite Filipino desserts this Christmas. Stay tuned!

The saucepan I used to make ube halaya is the Saucy from Great Jones. The Riza Magazine is a Great Jones affiliate. Commissions are made from sales through our links. Right now until 11/29 enjoy Great Jones’ Black Friday sale with 20% off all Great Jones products. Thank you for supporting The Riza.