Ube Challenge! 2 Chefs Make Dinner and Dessert With Purple Yams | Mystery Menu | NYT Cooking

[@moonyme_0797]

i want this show to never ever end

[@Dap740]

Same

[@Balletwingert]

Seconded!!! And Thriced!!!!

[@emboe001]

Even despite her history of abusing staff?

[@paintfreak911]

​@@emboe001 yes, as someone that has worked in the kitchen. Unfortunately, it's a high stress situation and tensions rise. It's not personal it's meeting customer expectations.

[@marcusb5289]

​@@paintfreak911no, it's well reported she is horrible off camera. Nothing to do with customers, just a nasty abusive person.

[@lorithomasscott349]

Really loving the camera person asking questions in this one, makes it feel even more educational

[@ZmenitBussler]

Vaughn is certainly the ideal moderator for these.

[@alaskalana]

“I know, you’re a baby” is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard

[@youhube100]

I loved this!!!

[@Fenix5jr]

Hi! Filipino here lol. For all desserts and if you want to get that iconic Ube Flavor (without the extract) you have to turn fresh/frozen ube into "Ube Halaya" first. Then use the Halaya or Jalea (Spanish) to add to whatever you're tryna bake. Ube Halaya is simply just Fresh/Frozen Ube Condensed Milk Coconut Milk Butter Sugar Some salt And voila :D

[@tychoderkommentator2989]

Do you just purree it or do you heat it up together?

[@salemwatkins438]

​​@@tychoderkommentator2989 When I make mine I just use frozen grated ube and throw everything into the one pot.

[@daneekaplan4284]

Thank you for educating us!

[@Fenix5jr]

Also for people who want savory ube dishes, We use fresh ube as an additive to soup. We can mash it and it turns the whole broth into this thick texture. See >>> Ube Sinigang

[@Fenix5jr]

Sort of like miso but purple lol

[@RachelShadoan]

Also: “the water leached out of the ube” is such a hilariously unappetizing way to describe a cocktail ingredient

[@patrickfreeman6851]

Not sure it's much worse than "Defrosted Ube Water" lol

[@evanfried4935]

I know it gets said every episode, but I just adore the way Sohla and Ham communicate with one another

[@MrJackKnightSays]

Me too. I hope I get the same kind of relationship they have one day.

[@chefsalty]

resident pinoy chef here. So specifically when frozen, ube the texture becomes like tofu. Since we cannot get the stuff in its raw state here in US, the imports are already par cooked and thus will give you that texture. Its best to think of it/use for dessert purposes then. Savory wise youll be out of luck. However, A+ effort nonetheless.

[@fubytv731]

I was baffled by the texture as well.

[@yusm]

If you grate/crumble and then dry them, it'll work in this skewer scenario.

[@meizhou9279]

Why isn’t it grown in the US? Is the climate not suitable? Seems like there’s a market for it here.

[@lostinlumiosecity]

@@meizhou9279i’ve been told it’s because the plant is considered an invasive species and there’s some restrictions about growing it in america. but yeah i do agree warmer places like california or florida would be suited for growing it

[@randomperson3457223]

We can get real ube in Pittsburgh from Patel Bros. So we definitely can get the raw ube in the US.

[@alexrogers]

Sohla mixing that drink is me at any party. *pours an entire bottle* "Sorry... it needed it"

[@susanwhite1878]

I would like to thank the on-site staff for asking the questions that the viewers always want to ask.

[@mashbrown8622]

I love watching Sohla "fucking up" and just coming up with something even better every time. It's insanely inspiring to me.

[@nellindasage8641]

Please please please tell me that the gingerbread house competition is coming back this year because I loved those videos, and I still watch them every festive season.

[@cathrinagroiss604]

I second that

[@sfowler1017]

Third this!!

[@purplespray3768]

I love it so much, they don't even have to compete they can just work together like the last time

[@uhhhwhatdoipick]

hopefully! I think they skipped last year because Sohla was pregnant

[@sfowler1017]

@uhhhwhatdoipick Oh that's right, baby El-Waylly was born last...September? I had forgotten the Home Alone house was all the way back in 2022

[@keelanjoshua]

The way Sohla and Ham communicate is *chef's kiss

[@blueskies-l8k]

Shout out to Ham and his choice of shirt!!

[@cineflora17]

He has the best shirts 🤘

[@MrJackKnightSays]

What's been your favourite one so far?

[@abblyleigh90]

Love Boygenius!

[@liddygrantland8458]

BOYGENIUS FOR THE WIN

[@thatgirlinokc3975]

SOHLA your positive attitude when things go wrong is one of my favorite parts. That cake came out great and the icing did too

[@philoctetes_wordsworth]

When I was young, there was a lady who lived on our street who made the best chicken! I was told it was “teriyaki “, but after a lifetime of trying to find that flavor in teriyaki chicken, I have come to understand that it was Adobo. You cannot imagine the joy I experienced, at the moment of that epiphany!✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨💫🌟⭐️ When I was 8, my mother brought me to Texas from San Diego, and there were no Filipino people here then, and no access to Adobo (as a child, with no control over the dinner plans). Houston has a vibrant Filipino community, now.🤗

[@JT-hr6dq]

I adore watching the two of you work together. I hope y'all bring back the gingerbread house competition this winter.

[@georgianichols4584]

love the halloween vibe with their orange and black shirts and the baby doing an excellent ghost impression.

[@AngelSoto-nf6or]

It’s not a ghost. It’s the John cena impression

[@behringerm]

I am impressed how they work together and frequently ask for each other’s taste critiques and suggestions

[@ThisIsTheRemixte]

My favorite part of this video is seeing Ham constantly cleaning his station

[@Rs-rq9fd]

I need a compilation of just that

[@Meggs23]

Watching Ham and Sohla hack at foods with cleavers and then just getting through it by adding sugar and alcohol is how a lot of Americans feel this week. ... Thank you to these two! ♥

[@Sunnyd-light]

Watching them brainstorm together is so wholesome 🥰🥰

[@paulinetayag9758]

UBE MENTIONED! ❤ I appreciate Ham and Sohla’s knowledge on Filipino food, I think it’s so under appreciated in the cooking world. Lovely to know that adobo is a dish he often makes 😊

[@GM_____]

I live in Central Florida and used to grow this in the garden I had at my old house. I accidentally discovered that if you let the vines grow on the ground, they will root into the soil and produce more ube than you know what to do with. I definitely could have used this video as inspiration to do way more with it than I did. One of my friends in our local gardening group tried to grow hers on a trellis, and she didn’t get very many.

[@ilushk]

Sohla: I’m having a bad day *poors a whole bottle of rum into the container*

[@pinoyriot15]

Thank you for highlighting this Filipino ingredient! Happy Filipino American History Month!!! This goes to show how little people really know Ube lol. Majority of Ube Products are using Ube Extract, which sometimes doesn't even taste like real Ube. I think one route you guys could've gone, my brother has used Ube to make a Parisian gnocchi. The Meat and ube wrapped around sugarcane sounds awesome. I'll definitely have to try that.

[@ytuseracct]

I think some also use just regular purple yams which are different to ube

[@ClarkRahman]

Is no one else going to talk about the coconut? Brava! I would totally need stitches trying that.

[@DiyosaLifeTV]

You guys should also check out what Bilo Bilo (also called Ginataan or Binignit) is. It's a sweet coconut milk stew with ube, sweet potatoes, sago (boba), sweet bananas, langka, etc. It's like a stewed / warm version of Halo-Halo.

[@xingcat]

A bunch of the ube things weren't exactly what they expected, but the cake looks gorgeous, and I'd really like a big serving of that garlic fried rice.

[@yearofthebun]

I've been a long time follower of both Sohla and Ham especially when this series started, and as a Filipino, seeing you cook ube made me so incredibly seen and heard lol 💖

[@chubby_deity3143]

This is what I'm talking about, actual challenges, not corn flakes or something generic where they can't mess it up. This was way more entertaining.

[@cassiemd]

I love seeing them succeed as well as struggle

[@YourNotesEchoedFar]

I know "relationship goals" gets thrown around a lot, but seriously their cooking skills and creativity are obviously on point; but how they work together is. so. cute. I cannot.

[@Waywren]

So Sohla was Stumped at last? XD sorry, couldn't resist. But everything still looked amazingly tasty. I loved the faces Genevieve made, particularly her 'that's so TEXTURE' face when she felt the microwaved ube. Really, though, ya'll did magnificently given an ingredient you'd never worked with!

[@markshatraw8291]

Love how the second we switch to Ham it just becomes Bob Ross Joy of Cooking

[@RachelShadoan]

Y’all’s bewilderment about the texture of the ube in the adobo was so relatable, this is a feeling I have had when I am doing an experimental food. I wonder if it would have worked differently if you had fresh ube?

[@ruthnoyes4228]

Now I’m wishing for a spin-off series where “Uncle Vaughn” just hangs out with baby El-Waylly for a day 😊

[@LifeOfTheFlame]

theres adobo with greens! we adobo kangkong and on occassion we adobo string beans with ground beef!!

[@LifeOfTheFlame]

theres also adobo kalabasa which is squash!! adobo is so flexible liver adobo with a brighter fresh tomato side is my personal favourite!!

[@LifeOfTheFlame]

ube is hard because we typically prepare it in halaya, which is jammed and rarely in whole chunks. but i have had ube chips as a side to a burger and its a bit more vanilla rich than typical fries! savory wise, ube and cheese are a classic especially with puto and pastries

[@janbonne]

Adobo Kangkong is my fave

[@LifeOfTheFlame]

an ube redo with prejammed ube would be so good as thays how its usually used!! we make big batches of these and store them in the fridge throughout the month!!

[@ichhabekeineahnung2462]

In The Arms of Vaughn. Thats a prime title for a romance novel.

[@Sespar27]

Honestly could just watch the two of them brainstorm all video. They're such a good team.

[@Gaspar314]

Those frozen ube were probably pre-steamed before flash frozen? That’s why they just turned to mush. They should have used fresh ones, but then again those are impossible to find. I’m just glad they didn’t go with the usual purple potato like most do.

[@audreyannettemeyer8110]

I love this show. I love this couple. I have ALWAYS loved Sohla and I simply can’t get enough of her ingenuity

[@marielmorenolarrinaga862]

My grandma has always (since 1960) put pineapple walnuts and raisins in her carrot cake, recently she changed her recipe to have dried cranberries instead of raisins, and it’s THE BESTTTT

[@joantrotter3005]

Try it with pecans.

[@cmorgana666]

This needs to be sold as an actual cooking show that airs once a week.

[@meows7229]

No. Keep it on YT. And give them bigger budgets so the duo gets more hyped and creative.

[@PaigeWeso]

I also don’t want it to get too structured, it needs to stay chaotic and fun. Things that become routine on tv become sterile.

[@meows7229]

@@PaigeWeso Exactly!!!

[@avidbingereader]

I just spent the past few days binging all the Mystery Menu videos so this showed up at the perfect time!!

[@meows7229]

My fave chef duo did not disappoint! They know what REAL UBE is! I'm crying coz they see a part of my identity for what it is.

[@PassiveAgressive319]

I love how their daughter is in the background 🥹🥹🥹🥹👶🍼

[@da8454]

As a Filipino-American raised in a tight knit community in Hawaii, we ate A LOT of seafood and greens, greens, greens. Pork was like a minor product we ate. Pork was more a garnish than a main entree. And I remember roasting goat, head to tail for special occasions. We’re waaaay more than pork, adobo and Ube. But, 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@macaoron]

"She needs to be in the arms of Vaughn" "She needs to feel those biceps against her sides" Same baby, same

[@philoctetes_wordsworth]

I gotta say: thanks, for that oven trick, with the coconuts! I learn so much, from you two. Thank you, truly.💋💋💋I miss Sohla’s historical recreations.

[@miesenplace]

This is one of the very best cooking shows on KZbin! Every episode makes me hungry!

[@hellaBayAr3a]

Would have loved to try these dishes with you guys! As Film-Am, I've never really had anything else besides ube halaya growing up, so all the purple yam-based products that have come out in the U.S. have been new experiences for me too.

[@couch38potato]

Please sell Sohla's sketches as prints! I would absolutely buy that 👌

[@jeremybartlett2396]

I'm not super surprised the sugar turned the ube into liquid. I've seen people make potato candy (B Dylan Hollis specifically) and the mashed potato turned into soup when a little sugar was added, then thickened up after that. I'm not sure why that happens (my guess would be that the sugar draws remaining water out of the potato/ube, then turns into a sugar water that makes the whole thing runny), but I've seen several people online mention the same issue.

[@MrDrPsych]

my favorite youtube series! also, genevieve is so kind.

[@ashleys637]

YESSSSS! Best NYT cooking show. They better do a gingerbread cookoff again or I'll riot...somehow. I work for the govt. I have the PTO.

[@Vera-n7l2c]

Looking forward for the übe redemption episode with fresh ube and ube halaya. It sounds like the issue was the frozen product.

[@ChupacabraChito]

This is our favorite yet. Absolutely adore watching you two work together. Kitchen couple goals.

[@VTpieface1029]

In Vietnamese cuisine there is a soup made of ube (khoai mỡ), using minced fresh prawns, rice paddy herb and diced ube. The ube pieces would eventually break down a bit and thicken the soup and it is DELICIOUS!

[@samrowano]

I love watching you guys work together. Sending love from Japan.

[@redeye1016]

I’d love to see you guys use a flower - like rose or jasmine that they have to use across both, super hard to balance floral flavours. Love this show!!

[@Sunnyd-light]

Ham ALWAYS has the best graphic tees on!! I love these two, one of my favorite series 🥰!!

[@LMNY1]

You can't get fresh ube in the states because it's an invasive species. Your best bet for pastries and ice cream is the extract and the pre grated frozen stuff. That stuff was always in the house when I was growing up.

[@thegrynne]

Cooking with frozen ube is hard! It should really only be used in puree form because the freezing/crystallization destroys its cell structure and makes it all waterlogged.

[@tonettesaldana3134]

Relate. Tried using frozen ube in brownies for ube brownies. It is easier if you make these frozen ube as halaya first then incorporate it in the batter.

[@amandashamanda9479]

I very literally mean the notification there was a new episode of this was the only good thing to happen in my life in the past few days.

[@karu6111]

Cooking with Ube is enough of a challenge, cooking with frozen ube, even more so. If it's fresh I'll use it like a tuber or a vegetable that imparts an intriguing color. That's how to use it in anything savory. It's also a thickener for soups, like taro. But that's fresh ube. It's sad most if you won't be able to get your hands on fresh ube. Makes me feel that we take them for granted lol, I gotta use them more in cooking.

[@goeshen4359]

Wish we could’ve seen Vaughn hold the wee one 😊

[@jodpigbass5904]

me too ..cannot wait to see how gorgeous their baby must be...

[@mydlopowidlo]

@@jodpigbass5904me too, but i don’t need to see the baby, i just want to see Vaughn holding a baby tbh

[@starjalanugraha3225]

Every time a new one of these comes out I instantly get the craziest rush of dopamine

[@madjohnshaft]

I see this note in some Adobo recipes "Do not mix the sauce. After pouring in the vinegar, do not stir the vinegar into the soy sauce. This helps to burn off the acid in the vinegar in the bottom of the pot".

[@MrJackKnightSays]

Ham and Sohla are definitely relationship goals. Also, can we get an episode with gojuchang, and have Eric Kim as the guest?

[@getrealnow73]

you two and your team all ways knock it out the park with such love & joy

[@KevFandino]

I love love love love this!

[@esbarbacena7782]

Everything looks so goos! My lola ( grandma ) used to say when cooking adobo, once you add vinegar, you have to leave it uncovered and not touch it for a couple of minutes. I guess messes up the texture of the sauce and it won’t reduce properly

[@faureamour]

I love these two so much. They're so real... well, minus the insane talent. If I tried to grate something and it exploded in my hand, we're having something else for dinner. 😂 Anywho, I'd love to see them do this challenge again after some practice or reading up on techniques using the ingredient.

[@hummersd]

If I cry, will Vaughn hold me too? 😆

[@nathanielhamovitz]

23:18 Sohla emptying bottles of rum and sugar syrup into the cocktail mix is so iconic

[@janusquiamco7128]

When they mentioned how the ube remained dry even though it was cooked in the adobo sauce, my mind went straight to ginataan (a sweet coconut and tapioca pudding with ube, taro, and plantain chunks). I do remember the ube cubes always being grainy in the center, like a baked potato that was just dunked into the pudding right before serving. I guess if you want to use it in a stew, you‘ll have to cut them smaller and use them to add a textural contrast to the mix.

[@pavanneveltman]

I’ve been buying fresh ube at the farmer’s market and it’s so delicious! No texture or flavor problems. Going to try your recipes using those! ❤

[@buschcory]

Wonderful episode, I loved the troubleshooting teamwork. I will never not watch these, Sohla and Ham are my favorites!

[@jzakibe]

Love Sohla and her cocktails!

[@smartperson1]

27:32 her microreaction on first sip is perfect

[@jusmecatalina]

My mom used to add the crushed pineapples in her carrot cake as opposed to raisins. Also, a Filipino kitchen will have those seasoning sauces in their cabinet.

[@kasaokc]

I'm not a fan of raisin in anything so this sounds way better!

[@ode-blu]

it is SO interesting how ube puzzled them. I really wanna try to cook with it

[@ytuseracct]

Fun fact ube is also different from regular purple yams. The ube variety is endemic to the Philippines.

[@lenastaudigl22]

just when i thought these two couldn't be more likeable... and then I see Ham wearing a Boygenius shirt

[@moyetlicious]

Omg that cake looks like a monster cake from Zelda Breath of the Wild! Now I know how to replicate it! Thanks Sohla 😘

[@rodaxel7165]

Thank you NYT Cooking. Hello from Manila.

[@cardinalles07]

Ube in its raw form is rarely ever used in filipino cooking. You can make the case that it can be cooked like any other root crop but in filipino cooking it’s generally processed first to become “halaya” and only then can it be used as an ingredient for cooking mainly for desserts like cakes or even ice cream and it also can be eaten as is which is what i grew up on. The cake and skewers look amazing tho and I love how you guys incorporated it in your recipes as your brainstorming them on the spot! Thats actually very impressive!

[@jonileicardona975]

Yay! Finally some Filipino food! Love this show!

[@landenbates7685]

This brainstorm was amazing to watch

[@rwalden00]

"It's such a fascinating texture" 😅 never a ringing endorsement

[@chantalhamilton2374]

"Could you pick her up?" is the best thing ever because, yes, we're working, but we're also attentive parents. No "crying it out" here

[@FFigueira]

i love how a cocktail is never in the plan but always happens in the end 💜😂

[@cs885]

Love how they stayed true to the roots of Ube

[@himbo_noa]

I've been binge-watching the series recently, so excited for more! 💜

[@Hawk259]

More episodes please!!!

[@zavs350]

I'm just happy US media has finally learned that ube is purple yam. I remember just a few years ago people online kept calling it purple sweet potato or taro

[@gwennorthcutt421]

i think this episode is where the most things go wrong. its cool to see how they adapt to unexpected outcomes

[@kjblob]

🥥A safe and easier way to open coconuts is to use the back of a cleaver and hit it center with intention 1 or 2 times while rotating it. A crack should appear that you can use the sharp side of the cleaver to lightly pry open. 🥥

[@WoAiKanShu]

So excited for a new episode!

[@shnom10]

You did Ube which is awesome! Take us to Hawaii and use Taro! I’m not to sure if you can find it, but it would be a unique, interesting and probably challenging ingredient! I would love to see what you guys would do

[@oliverparish]

I want the record to state - I also need to be against the arms of Vaughn, I need to feel those biceps against my sides. 😍