Two years ago, my food writing colleague Luke Tsai noticed a significant rise in ube-related events happening during in the spring. He predicted a delectable future: “We might as well go ahead and designate April as National Ube Month.”
Well, he’s right. On Sunday, April 7, San Francisco’s District Six will host their largest ever Ube Fest.
Certainly you’ve either heard of or eaten ube at this point. The sweet, starchy and iconically purple yam from the Philippines has had the Bay Area’s most creative foodmakers under a lavender spell for years. But it’s something that has always held weight in the Filipino American community. And at the outdoor market of Ube Fest, a squad of over 20 local vendors will showcase their favorite ingredient’s delicious versatility.
“I’m excited that everyone is catching on because it deserves the spotlight,” says Joseph Alcasabas, co-owner of SoMa’s cool Filipino American eatery Uncle Tito, who will be serving two varieties of ube at the festival. “It’s just eye catching out of the gate, right? The bold purple has you wondering what it tastes like. That builds curiosity within foodie culture. And then the taste delivers.”
Uncle Tito’s head chef Vincent Dayao will prepare a rice bowl with the rice seasoned using ube and coconut milk to give the white grains a natural purple dye.
