From Dubai to LA, ube is the purple gateway to Filipino cuisine

Ube muffins with its distinct purple color, seen in this photo, are one of the modern iterations of the purple yam native to the Philippines. (Supplied)
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Updated 09 September 2024
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From Dubai to LA, ube is the purple gateway to Filipino cuisine

  • Ube is a main component of many celebratory dishes, delicacies in the Philippines
  • As Filipino cooks abroad feature the tuber in their menus, they become popular internationally

MANILA: For the uninitiated, the experience of ube begins with its vividly purple hue. That is often how the tuber native to the Philippines catches the attention of foodies around the globe, as Filipino cooks turn them into the stars of a variety of snacks and desserts, from traditional rice cakes to ice creams and pastries.

From Dubai to LA, ube has featured as a novelty in Filipino-owned restaurants and shops. In the UAE’s commercial capital, visitors can find ube at Kooya Filipino Eatery, which has it in the form of a latte and milkshake, as well as a topping on halo-halo, the Philippines’ beloved shaved ice dessert.

Even in LA, Filipino-American Chef Andre Guerrero has ube milkshake on his menu at The Oinkster, which many credited as one of the first establishments to bring the purple yam into mainstream culinary consciousness in the US.

“We’re so … proud of it, and we should be; when we invite our new communities to try these brightly colored foods from our strange homeland, we’re attaching it to a good memory,” Manila-based food writer Michiko Manalang told Arab News.

For centuries, ube has been part of the Filipino table as a main component of celebratory dishes and special-occasion treats.

Often confused with the taro root, it is an indigenous staple of the Philippines that has a mellow, sweet and earthy flavor, as well as a striking hue. The root vegetable often used in desserts also conveys certain parts of Philippine culture.

Ube halaya, a rich purple jam made from boiled and mashed ube and thickened with coconut milk or condensed milk and butter, is an example. Typically served cold, the festive delicacy is believed to be more modern than widely perceived, as it would require some refrigeration.

“If someone can serve genuine ube halaya, it’s a subtle sign that they’re well-to-do,” Manalang said.

“Ube lends itself well to a lot of themes of Filipino cooking and culture. We’re a colorful bunch and we like our sweets, our rich textures,” she added. “Ube is good and fun on its own, but if I’m being honest, it’s our pride in it and our willingness to share that might be giving it and other Filipino foods that edge."

In the Philippines, local businesses have recently gotten more creative with ube on their menus, as seen in homegrown favorite Lola Nena’s ramp-up of its traditional doughnut offerings with an ube and cheese variant in May, to one of Manila’s new restaurants, TMBrew + Bistro, introducing Ube & Stracciatella Mozzarella in their menu.

Throughout the years, well-loved Filipino pastries have used ube in them, including the sweet, brioche-like pastry known as ensaymada and the dense, mooncake-like pastry of Chinese origin called hopia, said food and lifestyle writer Diane Go.

“When you think of something purple, automatically ube comes to mind, since it is a rare color in food and hard to attain the same vividness that it provides,” she said.

Ube’s eye-catching qualities have made ube a preferred gift item for travelers and migrant workers and offered an introduction to Filipino cooking, Go added.

“People, after all, eat with their eyes, which is why visual appeal is just as important. That’s why ube is usually the pasalubong (souvenir) of choice for foreigners and OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers), and the first entryway into local cuisine.”

Ube is “considered to be a unique and important dessert item in the Philippines,” said Raymond Macapagal, an assistant professor at the University of the Philippines’ Center for International Studies.

“It can be appreciated on its own or used to give an attractive purple color to other desserts … Ube is almost exclusively used as a dessert in Philippine cuisine. However, there are more recent recipes that have tried to incorporate it into savory (dishes).”

Though ube has been gaining more ground internationally, Macapagal is optimistic that purple yam will retain its Filipino roots.

“Despite other Southeast Asian countries like Thailand having ube or purple yam products, it seems as if ube has been very well-associated with Filipino cuisine,” he said. “So as long as ube is featured in Filipino-themed meals here and abroad, ube will retain its distinct Filipino-ness.”

Decoder

Ube

For centuries, ube has been part of the Filipino table as a main component of celebratory dishes and special-occasion treats. Often confused with the taro root, it is an indigenous staple of the Philippines that has a mellow, sweet and earthy flavor, as well as a striking hue. The root vegetable often used in desserts also conveys certain parts of Philippine culture.


Bangladeshi doctors on alert as dengue death rate highest in decades

Updated 59 min 56 sec ago
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Bangladeshi doctors on alert as dengue death rate highest in decades

  • Bangladesh is witnessing the highest death rate from dengue since 2003
  • Disease outbreak forecast to continue for the next two months

DHAKA: Bangladeshi doctors are on alert as this year’s mortality rate from dengue fever is the highest in over two decades.

Each year, dengue fever becomes a major health concern during the monsoon season between July and October, with thousands of Bangladeshis contracting the viral and potentially deadly disease transmitted by the Aedes mosquitoes breeding in freshwater pools.

The disease used to be rare in the 1960s, but since the early 2000s, its incidence has increased dramatically.

While the worst outbreak was recorded last year, with over 211,000 people hospitalized across the country, this year the country is witnessing the highest death rate from the disease since 2003.

Out of 34,121 dengue patients admitted to hospitals, 177 have died, according to Directorate General of Health Services data.

“This year, the fatality rate from dengue is higher than in the previous years, although the number of patients is less,” Dr. Mohammed Mushtuq Husain, adviser at the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research in Dhaka, told Arab News.

“The fatality is worrying as it is the highest in the world at the moment.”

The death rate has reached 0.52 percent, surpassing last year’s 0.49 percent.

“This dengue trend is feared to continue. When this monsoon rain spell is over, it will continue for the next two months — it’s the life cycle of the dengue virus and Aedes mosquitoes,” Husain said.

Dr. Muzaherul Huq, former World Health Organization regional adviser, warned that prevention and early detection need to be strengthened as the outbreak is not over yet.

“The way dengue case fatality is increasing, it may take a worrying (turn) at any moment. So, we need to strengthen the prevention methods against the dengue virus. Otherwise, we won’t be able to fight this,” he said.

Deaths are mostly occurring as patients come to hospitals at the last stage, often after a long time traveling as most specialist and testing facilities are available only at major clinics.

Many also come infected with dengue for the second or third time. A person can be infected several times with different variants of the virus.

“There are four strains of dengue virus. If someone gets infected with dengue in previous years, second or third-time infection causes more risks for him or her,” said Brig. Gen. Mohammed Rezaur Rahman, director of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in Dhaka.

“Dengue is a viral disease, and it mutates regularly. This is why it’s tough to eradicate.”

There is no treatment for the disease yet, and the focus is on treating its symptoms. In its severe form, it causes internal bleeding and deadly organ impairment.


Indian FM meets Sri Lanka’s new leadership, assures support in economic rebuilding

Updated 04 October 2024
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Indian FM meets Sri Lanka’s new leadership, assures support in economic rebuilding

  • S. Jaishankar is the first top foreign official to meet Sri Lanka’s new president
  • India was a key partner in extending support to Sri Lanka during its 2022 economic crisis

New Delhi: India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar arrived in Colombo on Friday to meet Sri Lanka’s new president and government and assure New Delhi’s continued support.

Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took office on Sept. 23, after winning the country’s first presidential vote since its financial collapse in 2022.

A day later, he appointed his three-member government and dissolved the parliament, clearing the way for new parliamentary elections scheduled for Nov. 14.

The Indian foreign minister is the first top foreign official to pay an official visit to Sri Lanka since its regime change.

He took to X after meeting Dissanayake, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath.

“Discussed ways to deepen ongoing cooperation and strengthen India-Sri Lanka ties for the benefit of people of two countries and the region,” Jaishankar said, as he also expressed “India’s continued support to Sri Lanka’s economic rebuilding.”

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the visit aimed to “further deepen the longstanding partnership” between the countries under India’s Neighborhood First Policy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s geopolitical framework of cooperation in the Indian Ocean region.

Dissanayake, the country’s first Marxist-leaning leader, took over the job on the promise of change, as the island nation of 22 million is still reeling from the crisis and austerity measures imposed by his predecessor as a part of a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund.

Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner, India in 2022 emerged also as the main source of support to its battered economy.

“India has been consistently engaged with the Sri Lankan leadership since the economic crisis, and Jaishankar’s visit is a signal that despite the change in government, India is likely to continue to work closely with the new dispensation,” Prof. Harsh V. Pant, vice president of the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, told Arab News.

“India intends to have as close ties with this government as it had with the previous. I think this is a signal of India’s interest … India is keen to continue the momentum in the relationship that had set in after India became the most active player in helping Sri Lanka get out of the economic crisis.”

The lineup of Sri Lanka’s new government will be finalized after November’s election. Currently, the president, the prime minister and the foreign minister have divided all the portfolios among themselves. A proper cabinet will be appointed after the parliamentary vote, with the composition depending on its results.

“India has registered that it is willing to work with the new government. That is the main message from the visit … Other details about projects, investment and other things will take time,” N. Sathiya Moorthy, a political analyst in Chennai, told Arab News.

“Every Sri Lankan remembers how India rushed to help during their economic crisis. So, the new government will not overlook that sentiment also.”


France, Italy launch project to exchange migrant trafficking information

Updated 04 October 2024
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France, Italy launch project to exchange migrant trafficking information

  • The project will be modeled after a similar deal between France and Britain
  • France’s new Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said it was his priority to further toughen immigration laws

PARIS: The interior ministers of France and Italy signed a declaration on their intention to exchange information related to migrant trafficking, the French interior ministry said on Friday.
The project will be modeled after a similar deal between France and Britain, launched in 2020 in the north of France in a bid to stop attempts to reach the United Kingdom.
France’s new Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, a law-and-order politician from the conservative Republican party (LR), said it was his priority to further toughen immigration laws, echoing remarks from the prime minister who said the country needed to control its border better.
Immigration is also a tense domestic issue in Italy, where far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pledged to drastically curb entries, though has not yet proved successful.
“Its objective is clear: to trigger judicial investigations, often combined, aimed at dismantling the networks underpinning the illegal flow through Italy to the rest of the European Union, in which France remains a sought-after destination,” the French interior ministry said in a statement.
In November 2022, tensions flared between France and Italy after Italy refused to let a charity ship with migrants dock, forcing it to go instead to a port in southern France.
The countries share a 500 km (300 mile) land border, mainly cutting through the Alps. Both countries are in the EU’s Schengen area with no border controls between them, though individual countries are responsible for asylum seekers who arrive in them.


German security chief warns over October 7 ‘trigger point’

Updated 04 October 2024
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German security chief warns over October 7 ‘trigger point’

  • Middle East turmoil tends to spark reactions in Germany, warned Thomas Haldenwang, chief of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
  • Anti-Semitism and hostility toward Israel are a “connecting element” between Islamists, pro-Palestinian extremists and other radical groups on the far right and far left

BERLIN: Germany’s domestic intelligence chief warned Friday that the anniversary of the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel could be a “trigger event” for unrest.
Next Monday marks one year since the attack by the Palestinian Islamist militant group that sparked Israel’s invasion of Gaza and conflict with Hamas allies in Lebanon, Iran and elsewhere.
Middle East turmoil tends to spark reactions in Germany, warned Thomas Haldenwang, chief of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).
Anti-Semitism and hostility toward Israel are a “connecting element” between Islamists, pro-Palestinian extremists and other radical groups on the far right and far left, he said.
“The anniversary could be a trigger event for large parts of the protest spectrum,” he said, warning of a “great potential for emotionalization, polarization and radicalization.”
Aside from official commemorations of the October 7 attack, a number of pro-Palestinian demonstrations are planned in Germany at the weekend and on Monday.
In Berlin, police union spokesman Benjamin Jedro said that “we are looking at the coming days with great concern” after witnessing “hatred, anti-Semitism and violent excesses” by some pro-Palestinian activists.
Haldenwang in his statement pointed out that the number of anti-Semitic crimes had risen to an all-time high since the Gaza war started.
“The potential danger of possible terrorist attacks against Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions, as well as against ‘the West’ as a whole, has increased significantly in the past six months.”
Haldenwang reiterated his warning against jihadist attacks, pointing to a deadly stabbing spree in the western city of Solingen last month.
“Islamists have understood how to use the current Middle East crisis to revitalize their propaganda and mobilize their followers,” he said.
The Daesh group is “using its propaganda to use the situation in Gaza to create emotions and encourage young Muslims in the West in particular to carry out terrorist attacks.”
The October 7 Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 41,788 people, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations has described the figures as reliable.


Nigeria’s Borno state hit by cholera amid flood devastation

Updated 04 October 2024
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Nigeria’s Borno state hit by cholera amid flood devastation

  • Cholera outbreaks are not uncommon in Borno, the epicenter of a 15-year-old Islamist insurgency
  • Flooding in Borno began when a dam overflowed following heavy rains

ABUJA: A cholera outbreak has hit Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, already reeling from floods that displaced nearly 2 million people, an official said on Friday.
Cholera outbreaks are not uncommon in Borno, the epicenter of a 15-year-old Islamist insurgency that has displaced thousands into camps and strained sanitation facilities and potable water sources.
Borno Health Commissioner Baba Mallam Gana told reporters that 17 cases have been recorded following tests, but no deaths so far.
“However, we are recording an increasing number of Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD)/suspected Cholera which is not unconnected with the flood devastation,” Gana said.
Almost 500 cases of AWD have been recorded, Gana said, with five local government areas mostly affected.
Flooding in Borno began when a dam overflowed following heavy rains, displacing millions from their homes and damaging health facilities and other infrastructures.
Gana said that to combat the latest outbreak, the state got 300,000 oral cholera vaccine (OCV) doses from the federal health ministry, which have been distributed across displacement camps and flood-hit communities.
The state is waiting for an additional 600,000 doses of the vaccine to ensure adequate coverage, he said.