Ginataang Bilo Bilo is a delicious tropical treat in the Philippines made up of rice balls, various slices of different fruits, and tapioca pearls all soaked in a bowl od coconut milk. It’s a delicious concoction that’s best enjoyed as an afternoon snack or dessert and can be served warm or chilled.
Ginataang bilo bilo was one of the favorites snacks to serve during merienda in my household, especially for kids. I remember that my lola loved to experiment with different fruits and ingredients to dump into our bowls of sweet gooey goodness so it was always an exciting thing to see what combination she has come up with.
You can include various ingredients when making gintaang bilo bilo but the most common and traditional Filipino recipe for this snack includes ingredients like riceballs, coconut milk, langka (or jackfruit), and tapioca. You can opt not to include the langka and replace it with your preferred fruits but the coconut milk, rice balls, and tapioca can never be excluded because we wouldn’t be able to identify it as a ginataang bilo bilo dish.
As I look online, some websites categorize this dish as a kakanin but I’m not entirely sure about that because it’s commonly served indoors and you’ll hardly find any ginataang bilo-bilo vendors out at the streets during the holidays or at bus stops which I think plays a portion on what constitutes a kakanin these days, although it does use rice balls as the main ingredient.
I also found that there’s a similar Chinese dish called tangyuan which uses similar ingredients like glutinous rice rolled up in balls served in a bowl of water. The Chinese typically serve these colorful snacks during the Chinese New Year.
Maybe the Filipino ginataang bilo bilo dish was influenced by the Chinese tangyuan dish and made our own version of it. Other websites also call it the warm version of halo-halo. Who knows. But I’m pretty sure that ginataang bilo bilo is a staple Filipino snack and like many staple Filipino dishes in the Philippines, each household has its own version of this dish.
And again, it’s such a fun Filipino dish to experiment with using different fruits. The most typical one is langka or jackfruit but I’ve seen so many different versions in the internet including one with ube that turned the coconut milk a beautiful purple color. Many ginataang bilo-bilo also commonly use saba or ripe plantains. Whatever you can get your hands on, you can incorporate it in the recipe.
Plus it’s up to the household if they want to serve the snack cold or warm. We typically serve ginataang bilo-bilo warm especially during a rainy day or a particularly cold night but I can see the huge appeal of serving it chilled, especially during hot afternoons.
For my ginataang bilo bilo recipe, I like to keep it simple. I’m going to use all the classic ingredients plus some ripe plantains or saba and sweet potatoes sliced into small cubes. I’ll list all the ingredients and their measurements below. All of them are easily available in local markets all over the Philippines.
Now for the cooking process. I was surprised on my first time cooking ginataang bilo bilo is divided into three parts. I guess I was just so used to immediately being served a bowl of this sweet gooey goodness during my childhood that I had the impression that cooking it only takes a minute or two.
But gintaang bilo bilo is prepared by first cooking the rice balls, then the tapioca pearls, and finally the ginataan which basically mixed all the finished ingredients altogether. Of course, the fruits and other ingredients are prepped and sliced first before adding it into the bowl.
Onces you’ve got all everything prepared and ready, it’s only a matter of combining it all together and creating the beautifully creamy and delicious ginataang bilo bilo. Serve it warm or chilled depending on the time of day and weather and you’re guaranteed for a delicious snack or dessert. Have fun scooping up all the different ingredients in the bowl.
Here’s my ginataang bilo bilo recipe which you can easily follow. Enjoy!
Ginataang Bilo Bilo – Sticky Rice Balls in Coconut Milk Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ kilo Glutinous Rice Flour
- 1 big coconut milk,
- 2 cups of Sugar
- 2 pcs. of Sweet Potatoes (kamote) sliced
- 5 – 7 pcs. of Banana, (Saging na Saba)sliced
- 200 grams of Water Yam(Ube) sliced
- 100 grams of Jackfruit
- 1 cup cooked sago
- 1 Liter of Water
Instructions
- Prepare all ingredients and slice them all.
- In the mixing bowl, mix the 2 and ½ cups of glutinous rice and vanilla.
- Add the 1 and ½ cup of water gradually and mix until it forms into soft dough.
- Get some dough and form it into small balls.
- Remain the ½ cup of rice flour dough and set aside.
- In a cooking pot, put the 1 liters of water and add the sliced water yam then cover it and wait to boil.
- Then add sliced sweet potatoes and add the 2 cups of sugar and cover it and cook for 3 – 5 minutes until slightly soft.
- Add the sliced banana and jackfruit then stir and cover it to continue boiling.
- Add the rice flour balls and mix it well then cover.
- The remaining rice flour dough is dissolved into ½ cup of water and set aside.
- Then add the coconut milk and sago then mix it well and cover it.
- Then lastly add the dissolved glutinous rice when all ingredients are already cooked.
- Allow to simmer until it thickens.
- Serve hot and Enjoy the Bilo – Bilo Recipe.
Youtube Video
FAQs
Storage Instructions
Ginataang bilo-bilo will keep for up to 3 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Keep in mind that the coconut soup will thicken as it cools, so if needed, add additional coconut milk to thin it out again.
What is bilo-bilo made of? ›
Pinaltok or Bilo-bilo is a Filipino dessert made of small glutinous balls (sweet sticky rice flour rounded up by adding water) in coconut milk and sugar. Then jackfruit, saba bananas, sweet potatoes, taro, and tapioca pearls or sago (regular and mini size pearls) are added.
What is the difference between Ginataang Halo Halo and bilo-bilo? ›
“Bilo-bilo” describes the round shapes of the glutinous rice dumplings while the “Halo-halo” describes the colourful ingredients liken to the cold “Halo-Halo”, a Filipino shaved ice dessert. “Pinindot-pindot”, describes the rolling and squishing of the dumplings while forming them.
What are sticky rice balls made of? ›
A popular snack all over China, glutinous rice balls, or tang yuan, are filled with red bean, sesame, peanut, and other sweet fillings that ooze out from mochi-like dumplings skins. The dumpling skins owe their pleasantly gummy texture to glutinous rice flour, which produces a chewier dough.
What is the English name for bilo-bilo? ›
Bilo bilo comes from the Tagalog word “bilog,” which means “round.” Ginataang bilo bilo translates to rice balls cooked in coconut milk.
How much sugar is in bilo-bilo? ›
Region: US
| Serving | Ingredient | Calories |
|---|
| 22.22 g | sugar | 86 |
| 8.44 g | tapioca pearl | 30 |
| 17.56 g | rice flour | 64 |
| 13.16 g | water | 0.0 |
3 more rowsSubstitutes for glutinous rice flour
Rice flour is the best glutinous rice flour alternative. Furthermore, most rice flour substitutes, such as potato starch, cornstarch, and tapioca starch, will also serve as sweet rice flour substitutes.
Where did Ginataang bilo bilo originate? ›
The dish is believed to have originated in the Visayas region of the Philippines, specifically in the province of Iloilo. The name "bilo-bilo" comes from the Visayan word "bilo", which means "round", referring to the shape of the glutinous rice balls.
What's the difference between rice flour and glutinous rice flour? ›
They come from different rice cultivars. Rice flour is made from Japonica long-grain rice, and glutinous rice flour comes from both long and short-grain glutinous “sticky rice” or “sweet rice” varieties. Glutinous rice has more chew.
Why do the Filipinos eat Halo-Halo? ›
The beloved summer treat Halo-halo is like an unofficial symbol of summer in the Philippines. The longing for something cold and refreshing under the sweltering heat, the sweet and surprising flavor bombs that remind us of happy times is what this colorful concoction brings to the table.
Halo-halo, also spelled haluhalo, Tagalog for "mixed", is a popular cold dessert in the Philippines made up of crushed ice, evaporated milk or coconut milk, and various ingredients including side dishes such as ube jam (ube halaya), sweetened kidney beans or garbanzo beans, coconut strips, sago, gulaman (agar), pinipig ...
What dessert is similar to Halo-Halo? ›
Guinomis is almost a cross between a halo-halo and sago't gulaman. It hails from the Kapampangan people and is made of crushed ice, jelly, sago, sugar, evaporated milk, water and pinipig. To make it more substantial, you can add melon strips and replace the evaporated milk with coconut milk.
What is the best rice for sticky rice balls? ›
Starch Matters: The Best Type of Rice for Onigiri
Japonica varieties are typically short-grain ones with more amylopectin, a water-soluble starch that gives cooked rice its sticky quality.
How do you get rice balls to stick together? ›
Normally you'd want to use a short, stubby rice grain for rice balls so they hold together and are softer.
What do sticky rice balls symbolize? ›
The round shapes and these sweet rice ball desserts symbolizes togetherness and family reunion, since it is usually eaten together with loved ones. Whether you call it tangyuan or yuanxiao, join us on the last day of Chinese New Year celebrations at Lan Su to get an authentic taste of this traditional festive treat!
How long can Che last in the fridge? ›
Soft cheeses such as cottage cheese, ricotta or Brie can be refrigerated one week but they don't freeze well. Hard cheeses such as cheddar, Swiss and Parmesan can be stored in the refrigerator six months before opening the package and three to four weeks after opening.
How long is Che good for in the fridge? ›
Slowly add in the simple syrup that you made in the beginning. Taste as you go & adjust the sweetness level to your liking. Leave in the fridge for at least an hour before consuming because it's best served cold. This can be kept in the fridge for a week.
Can ginataan be frozen? ›
Ginataang halo-halo can be enjoyed warm or cold for breakfast or after meal dessert. Transfer leftovers to a container with a lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I do not recommend freezing as the bananas turn black and mushy when frozen and thawed.
What is the shelf life of ginataang Tulingan? ›
Ginataan has a coconut-milk-based sauce, which means it doesn't have a very long shelf life compared to Filipino ulam dishes that have soy- or vinegar-based sauces. It can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, and this is lessened for ginataang gulay as vegetables tend to go bad faster than meat.
