GINATAANG BILO- BILO /PINALTOK (GLUTINOUS RICE BALLS WITH COCONUT MILK)- MAY KULINARYA THEME

Better late than never;) Sefie and Connie chose Flores de Mayo for the Kulinarya Cooking Club theme for May. Flores de Mayo (Flowers of May) is one of so many events i look forward to. Pls. click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flores_de_Mayo for a better idea on what this means.

To me, May also means a collage of colors. Not only because of the beautiful flowers, the Procession in honor of  The Virgin Mary,  but because of  the fiesta celebrations, Santa Cruzan and the food!

This is why i opted for Bilo-Bilo because of the colors and a popular snack served during fiestas;) 

Ingredients:

1 pack glutinous rice flour
½ cup water (for the dough) and more if necessary
1 cup water to be mixed with the coconut milk
2 cups sugar
2 cans coconut milk
1 cup tapioca pearls
1 can jackfruit (langka), cut into strips
1.  Mix glutinous rice flour and water into dough. Add more water if needed. Shape into balls depending on what size you want your bilo bilo to be. I prefer a size of an olive. These will expand as they get cooked. I use only half of what was made and freeze the rest of the dough for future use.* (I'D LIKE TO MAKE THEM ALL AT ONCE TO SAVE SOME TIME FOR NEXT BILO BILO)

 2. In a large pot, bring 1 can coconut milk, 1 cup water, 2 cups sugar, and tapioca pearls to a boil. Tapioca pearls are cooked when they turn transparent in color, and  rice balls.are soft and chewy.

3. Add remaining coconut milk and jackfruit when tapioca pearls and rice balls are cooked. At this point taste and adjust the sugar. Boil for 5 more minutes.

4. Serve hot.

Make dough balls, a size of an olive.

.

Use the colored tapioca pearls.

Colorful Tapioca Pearls

Bring the glutinous rice balls, tapioca pearls, sugar, coconut milk and water to a boil until tapioca pearls and glutinous rice balls are cooked.

Add more coconut milk, jack fruit. Taste and adjust sugar and the coconut milk.

        How to freeze the dough balls. Arrange them on a sheet pan like you would a cookie dough and put in the freezer uncovered for few minutes or until it hardens. Then transfer in a freezer bag. Freeze for future use.