April 10, 2011

Halo-Halo! (Tropical Fruit Melange)

Halo-halo, what is it? On my own words, its a mixture of shaved ice, milk, sago pearls, mung beans, sweet corn,  flan, gulaman (gelatin), and more - depending on one's taste. But according to my super smart best friend named Wikipedia, Halo-halo (from Filipino word halò, "mix") is a popular Filipino dessert that is a mixture of shaved ice and evaporated milk to which are added various boiled sweet beans and fruits, and served in a tall glass or bowl. 

Ingredients include boiled kidney beans, garbanzos, sugar palm fruit (kaong), coconut sport (macapuno), and plantains caramelized in sugar, jackfruit(langkâ), gulaman, tapioca or sago, nata de coco, sweet potato (kamote), pounded crushed young rice (pinipig), and sometimes with a slice of leche flan or custard. In terms of arrangement, most of the ingredients (fruits, beans, and other sweets) are first placed inside the tall glass, followed by the shaved ice. This is then sprinkled with sugar, and topped with either (or a combination of) leche flan, ube halaya, or ice cream. Evaporated milk is poured into the mixture upon serving.

As usual, my parents and I attended the Holy Mass this Sunday morning at Robinson's Place. After the Mass, we had lunch at Stephanie's. At Php 250.00, it's an eat-all-you-can buffet from fried chicken, spaghetti, crab, shrimp, lechon, vegetable salad, et cetera. Because it's summer, they had a new feature on their menu, Halo-Halo, but it's not included in the 250.00 you'll pay for the food though. Priced 50.00 pesos, it's also unlimited - they had a table with the shaved ice, milk, sugar, and the toppings and all you had to do is go make one yourself. 

So here's how to  make your very own and Definitely PINOY! Tropical Fruit Melange. 

The ingredients are,
  • 1 ripe large banana
  • 2 ripe mangoes or 1 cup canned ripe mango
  • 1 cup firm gelatin set into gel and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1 cup canned ripe jackfruit
  • 1/2 cup sweet corn or chick peas (garbanzos)
  • 1 cup young shredded coconut, fresh or canned
  • 1 cup cooked sweet yams or (ube halaya) glutinous purple yam,  cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 2 cup shaved ice
  • 2 cup milk
  • 4 scoops of favorite ice cream
  • 1/2 cup chopped peanuts or rice krispies
And here's how to do it!

  • Peel mangoes and slice the meat into 1/2-inch cubes. Discard the seeds.
  • Prepare 4 tall glasses. Divide each ingredient into 4 equal parts.
  • In each glass place 1/4 of each ingredient, adding layer by layer starting with corn or chick peas, cooked sweet yams, jackfruit, bananas, coconut, and gelatin.
  • Top with 1/2 cup shaved ice.
  • Pour 1/4 cup milk over shaved ice and top with a scoop of ice cream.
  • Sprinkle nuts or rice krispies over it.

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