This is a popular Filipino snack and dessert made with small glutinous rice balls and tapioca pearls cooked in coconut milk. Purple yam, sweet potato, bananas, and jackfruit make this comforting dessert rich, creamy, and delicious. Bilo Bilo originated in Luzon, the northern island of the Philippines.
Ingredients
- 3–4 cups water
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup diced purple yam
- ½ cup diced sweet potato
- 2 small Saba bananas, sliced
- ½ cup fresh jackfruit, sliced
- 1 can coconut milk (about 3 cups)
- ½ cup glutinous rice flour
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup coconut sugar, white sugar, or brown sugar (white sugar keeps the dessert light lavender in colour)
- ½ cup cooked sago (tapioca pearls)
Instructions
- Heat water in a deep pot.
- Add a pinch of salt.
- Add the purple yam and sweet potato, then boil on low heat until about 70% cooked.
- Add the sliced Saba bananas.
- Mix the glutinous rice flour with water to make a soft dough.
- Break off small portions of the dough and roll them into small round balls.
- Add the small rice balls to the boiling pot.
- Add the cooked tapioca pearls and sliced jackfruit.
- Add the coconut milk and sugar.
- Continue boiling for 3–4 minutes until the rice balls float to the surface and all the ingredients are soft and cooked.
- Adjust the seasoning to taste.
- Your delicious Ginataang Bilo Bilo is ready to serve.
Serve hot or chilled and enjoy!
