Ginataang Bilo-bilo (Rice balls with coconut milk)

I don't know if this dish falls on either a Filipino snack or a Filipino dessert. Well, according to my mother dear, it is consider as a snack but according to wikipedia it's a dessert. Haha! Oh well. I made this when my husband was deployed. I miss the Philippines so much so I cook some of my favorite dishes and somehow it eases the homesickness I feel inside.

I couldn't find any saging saba (I think it's a Filipino version of plantain) and ube (purple yam). So I just used the regular yam you buy in the grocery store and plantains. I never had plantains before. In my opinion, plantains can't compete with the taste and texture of the saging saba.

So here it is. My version of Ginataang bilo-bilo using the ingredients I can get from the stores where I live.

Ginataang Bilo-bilo (Rice balls with coconut milk)

*For Bilo-bilo (Rice balls)
1 cup rice flour (I used the Mochiko brand)
1/2 cup water

Put rice flour in a bowl. Add water. Mix until smooth then shape into small balls. Set aside.


4 cups of water
1 medium yam, diced
1 medium sweet potato, diced
1 ripe plantain, diced
1 cup tapioca pearls (sago)
1/2 can of canned jackfruit, cut lengthwise
2 cups coconut milk
3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Boil water in a pot. Add yams, sweet potatoes, and plantains and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes.
Drop the rice balls, tapioca pearls, and jackfruit into the pot and continue to simmer.
Then, add coconut milk, sugar and vanilla. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Please don't drool. Hahaha!



  I MISS HOME. I MISS THE PHILIPPINES!