Friday 24 March 2006

Ginataang Halo-Halo

Ginataang Halo-halo

This is one of my all-time favourite hot Filipino snack. Although there was a time when just the mention of the name makes me turn green - not with envy - but as in almost sick. See, there was a period (a long one) when my father insisted on having this *every* Sunday without fail. We, of course, loved it what with my father asking for gabi (taro) and ube (purple yam) to be required in the mix. The ube makes the sweet soup turn rather bluish as if somebody tipped in some tina (blue laundry tint). But no matter how much you love a certain food, if you have it every week for more than a year, your infatuation soon wanes. Nowadays I cook it only several times a year usually in winter time when having something hot and soupy is almost de rigeur for our family.

The ingredients I used here is based on what I can source in my area. So fresh coconut milk is out as with saba banana. That's one thing I miss from Pinas. The plantain, in my opinion, still can't compete with the taste and texture of the saba. But I can't find it anywhere here so to the plantain I must stick. One thing about plantain, when it's very ripe it will literally turn almost black. I was wondering before why grocers continue to display 'rotten' pieces of these. Until a Filipina friend kindly informed me that it still edible in that state. In fact, most prefer it black-ripe for a softer and sweeter banana.

I noticed as well that the sweet potatoes (kamote) here is softer or rather cooks more easily than the ones back home. And lastly, I think I prefer to use the glutinous rice flour rather than soaking the malagkit overnight then grinding it then straining it in a cheese cloth. *sigh* The ready-made flour just makes ife so much easier. By the way, there's a lot of coconut soup in this one since I love it soupy rather than chock-full of halo with hardly any soup.



Bilo-bilo


Ginataang Halo-Halo
(Mixed Fruits In Sweet Coconut Milk)

*For the bilo-bilo (glutinous rice balls):
1 cup malagkit (glutinous) rice flour
scant 1/2 cup water

3 x 400 ml cans of coconut milk
3 x 400 ml cans of water (use the can of the coconut milk)
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup tiny sago (tapioca) pearls
500 g  kamote (sweet potato) - peeled and cut into serving size pieces
350 g  gabi (taro/eddo) - peeled and cut into serving size pieces
2 pcs ripe plantain bananas - peeled and cut into serving size pieces
250 g  fresh or canned langka (jackfruit) - drained and cut into 1/2-inch thick pieces
coconut cream (optional)
  1. Mix the malagkit rice flour and water. Add in more water or flour to make into a dough-like consistency.
  2. Get a small piece off it and, with your hands, roll into a ball about 1/2-inch in diameter. Repeat until you have used up all of the dough. Set aside.
  3. In a big pot, tip in all the coconut milk and water. Bring to boil - watch out this mixture usually boils over.
  4. Add the sago pearls. Turn down heat and continue to simmer uncovered until there are no more opaque white bit in the middle of the sago pearls (about 20 minutes).
  5. Add in the sugar and stir to dissolve. Taste to see if the sweetness is to your liking. If not, add more sugar.
  6. Tip in the bilo-bilo (glutinous rice balls) in the pot. Bring to boil again until all the bilo-bilo has floated on the surface.
  7. Add the gabi, simmer for 3 minutes.
  8. Add the kamote and banana and simmer for another 4 minutes or until the gabi and kamote are almost cooked.
  9. Add the langka and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
  10. Serve hot in a bowl with 1-2 Tbsp of coconut cream on top.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

This recipe sounds doable! I also don't have access to fresh coconut milk and langka but I am lucky to find some saba at the Filipino store here in the Midwest. I agree, nothing is better than saba -- the plantains are waaaay inferior in taste! My lovely saba are still raw as of this writing but I can't wait till they go ripe this weekend. I am very much inspired to make your Ginataang Halo-halo!

Unknown said...

It's me again. And I am posting this comment to give you feedback.

Your recipe is superb! I agree with the sequence of additions of the root crops. I actually deviated from it, on step 8 and had consequences... my kamote got too mushy!

I have a tip to share, if you're interested. I like my Ginataang Halo-halo thick, so I took some gabi from the stew and mashed them and put them back. It added thickness and creaminess. Yummmy!

Thanks again for sharing!

Mrs. Sweet Tooth said...

thank you!
now i dont have to drive for 30 minutes just to get this desert!

Anonymous said...

Your recipe for this Ginataang Halo-halo is the Best in the West. I did not realize that even thought the ceremony of preparing it, is that long but, it's worth it when you taste it. My sincere thanks for sharing this recipe to the world your Superb Celia.
We're Lucky here in North America because we have everything from fresh to de Lata. We have fresh coconut,taro,casava,kamote, saba and buko. Just to make US resident Filipinos we have Lanzones, Atis, Balimbing and lots of Mama Sita's. Once again my sincere thanks.....God bless.
Earngold

Anonymous said...

I like mine thick too. But instead of smashing the gabi when cooked, just add some glutinous rice flour to your cooking. It is the same concept as adding flour to soups, making the ginataang bilobilo thicker. I grew up in Pampanga and this is how the oldies there do it. My mom even adds rice flour to her karekare since she doesn't use Mama Sita's. Try it!

Anonymous said...

this was delicious! Thirded the recipe, used "95% less fat carnation coconut evap milk" instead, and at end chucked in chopped banana,paw paw and lychees (easier to find in Australia). DEfinitely the easiest thing i've made in a long time.