Guinataan means cooked with gata or coconut cream (or milk); halo-halo literally means mix-mix. Guinataang halo-halo is a sweet snack or dessert made with chunks of saba bananas, kamote (sweet potatoes) and gabi (taro), strips of langka (jackfruit), sago (tapioca balls) and bilo-bilo (sticky rice balls) cooked in sweetened coconut milk.
This is a treat that my lola (grandmother) used to cook on weekends. When my brother and I craved for it during weekdays, she would buy some during her bi-weekly trip to the wet market. My lola would cook guinataang halo-halo in a huge pan on the outdoor gas stove. The cut bananas, kamote, gabi and langka (jackfruit) would be placed in basins until they were ready for boiling. And there would be mounds and mounds of grated coconut out of which the cream would be squeezed. That was a long time ago. In my mind, I sometimes relive the excitement of those weekend cookouts.
It was also my lola who introduced my own kids to guinataang halo-halo, the beginning of their appreciation for any dish with coconut cream or milk.
So, does guinataang halo-halo have to have everything? Saba bananas, sweet potatoes, taro, jackfruit, tapioca balls, rice balls… Hell, no. Include what you enjoy, exclude what you do not. Cooking guintaang halo-halo is about enjoying the sweet snack rather than aiming for “authenticity” (whatever that means) and not be able to eat half of what’s in it. It’s not a contest about how many ingredients you can throw into the pot either.
Now, about anise (aniseed). Traditionally, anise is added to guinataang halo-halo to add depth of flavor. The aromatic spice balances the rather monotonous sweetness of the dish. You can add anise, if you like. For the amount of ingredients given below, a generous pinch should be enough.
Guinataang Halo-halo
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup glutinous rice flour
- 2 saba bananas
- 1 large yellow kamote (sweet potato)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
Instructions
- Place the glutinous rice flour in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup water and mix until it forms into a dough. If the dough is crumbly, wet your hands and mix again. Repeat until the dough no longer falls apart. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
- Pinch off small pieces of dough and roll into one-inch balls. You should have about 8 to 10 rice balls.
- Peel the saba bananas and kamote, and cut into one-inch cubes.
- Place the sugar and salt in shallow cooking pan.
- (Salt? Yes, salt. For balance to prevent the sweetness from becoming cloying -- nakaka-umay, in Filipino. Same way that salt is added to cake batter or cookie dough.)
- Add 3/4 cup water. Cook until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
- Add the kamote cubes first. Turn the heat to low. Simmer the kamote cubes for five minutes.
- Add the banana cubes and rice balls. Stir. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut cream. Cook just until bubbly.
- Serve the guinataang halo-halo warm.
If you cooked this dish (or made this drink) and you want to share your masterpiece, please use your own photos and write the cooking steps in your own words.
Hello and welcome! I'm a retired lawyer and columnist, wife for 28 years, mom of two, and a passionate cook. What is this blog about? Recipes for dishes 
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I really like this for merienda… I remember during Todos Los Santos, my Mom used to cook this or even the Ginatang Munngo and she will serve this to all of us, when I was still a kid…. :wink:
I miss those days when my Mom used to prepare those kind of merienda, after the gruelling scraping of coconut meat and all… Gosh…
Like you Mam Sassy Mother knows best talaga, in food and everything…
my ginataang halu-halo has some more ingredients aside from the above mentioned, i usually add the following: ube peeled and cubed, small sago, bilo-bilo and sweet ripe langka shredded by hand. The kakang gata (coconut first extract) is poured before serving.
‘everyone eats and drinks and only few savour the flavour”-
Confuscius
hi ms connie! i wanna try this recipe, kaso wala dun sa ingredients un bilo-bilo pero andun sa procedure? pano ba ang misture ng paggawa ng bilo-bilo? salamat & more power
the procedure is on the last part of page 1.
favorite ko ‘to, yung mainit or kahit galing sa ref! basta dapat lots of bilo-bilo, banana and sago!
oooppss,,sori idid’nt see it..i want to try it ..it looks delicious..
Connie, what’s the difference between adding the coconut milk first while the bilo bilo are boiling and adding them when everthing is nearly cooked? I noticed that some people recommend adding the coconut milk first, while yours is last. Is it because you are using fresh gata while they are using canned version? I will be using the canned version as fresh is not available here. Thanks.
cats, it’s the oil in fresh coconut milk. boil it for too long and the coconut milk curdles.
this dish is called binignit or tabirak here in Cagayan de Oro. we also add ube & langka but we do not use bilo-bilo. instead, just a handful of glutinous or plain rice. also, instead of boiling evrything in just plain water, 2nd extraction from the coconut is used. ;)
mam connie, you gave a good idea of adding a little salt. sometimes, kasi when gata & sugar is combined nkaka’umay talaga pagnsobrahan k nah. hehehe! truly it brings back lots of childhood memories. i sometimes assist kasi my father everytime he cooks something special such as this one. ;)
Ms. Connie, bakit po may salt? Curious lang…
Para hindi nakaka-umay yung tamis nya. :) Just like adding a pinch of sugar to Italian spaghetti sauce to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
hay naku! nagcrave ako sa mga kwento and comment nyo kaya nagyon meryenda we will cook guinatan halo halo….thanks to all!
hindi ba mas masarap po kung lalagyan ng langka(jack fruit)
i happen to research for this because of the weather here…umuulan at malamig…this is usually the best time that we usually taste good food like this.. i want to cook it with myself and my mama was not around… your recepie helps me a lot..thank you!!!!
?thank you poh sa recipe kaya nakapasa aq sa?
?T.L.E sa school thanks poh talaga?……..