Ginataang Bilo-Bilo Recipe (2024)

What is Ginataang Bilo Bilo?

Ginataang Bilo-Bilo is a warm, dessert soup with chewy rice balls (bilo-bilo) made from glutinous or sticky rice flour. It also includes root vegetables or tubers like sweet potatoes (kamote), ube (purple yam), and cassava (kamoteng kahoy).

Tropical fruits like jackfruit (langka) and saba bananas (saging na saba) add natural sweetness to the mix, while sago pearls are just fun to eat. This dish is cooked together in a sweet coconut milk mixture with pandan leaves or ginger.

Notes and substitutions

• Glutinous rice flour: This is also called sweet rice flour—not sweet and contains no gluten. It gets sticky and chewy when cooked, unlike regular rice flour.
• Coconut milk (gata): Fresh is always best, but full-fat coconut milk in cans and cartons is a suitable alternative. You can also use coconut cream for a thicker consistency.
• Pandan leaves: Knotting them helps release their aroma. You can also use vanilla, pandan, or ube extract. Sometimes, I like using fresh ginger for a warm, spicy touch.
• Root vegetables and more: I've used cassava, saba bananas, jackfruit, and purple sweet potatoes because I like the purple color they add. However, feel free to get creative! You can use other types of sweet potatoes or tubers like taro or purple yam (ube). Corn also makes a good addition. If you like a stronger ube flavor, use ube extract.

Get your ingredients ready. Chop the root vegetables into even pieces to cook quickly and evenly.

Step 2: Make bilo bilo

Step 3: Boil coconut milk

In a 4.5-quart heavy-bottomed pot, combine 2(13.5-oz) cans of coconut milk, 2 cups of water, a pinch of salt, and the knotted pandan leaves. Set it over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.

Step 4: Add the tubers

Step 5: Add the fruits

Add the saba bananas and jackfruit, then mix together. Cover and let them cook for about 10 minutes or until they slightly soften.

Step 6: Add the bilo bilo

Step 7: Add sago and sugar

Add the cooked sago and sugar, then adjust the sweetness to your taste. The sauce should have thickened by now and the root vegetables should be tender. Turn off the heat.

Before serving, don't forget to take out the pandan leaves. This popular Filipino favorite dessert is great warm, but some like it cold too. Keep in mind, it will thicken as it cools.

Why are my rice balls falling apart?

This often happens if the dough is too wet. Your glutinous rice flour mixture should be firm enough to easily shape into balls. When cooking them, add the balls to the boiling coconut milk but don’t stir right away. Wait until they float to the top, which shows they’re cooked through and have set. This helps prevent them from breaking apart.

How do I store leftovers?

Ginataang Bilo Bilo is best enjoyed fresh. For leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within 2-3 days. To reheat, use the microwave or warm them on the stove over low heat. Add a bit of coconut milk or water if it seems too thick.

Filipino recipes with coconut milk

• Maja Blanca: Creamy coconut pudding with sweet corn kernels thickened with cornstarch, then topped with latik (caramelized coconut curds).
• Ginataang Mais: Sweet rice porridge made with sweet corn, glutinous rice, and coconut milk.
• Ginataang Munggo: Sweet rice porridge made with mung beans, glutinous rice, and coconut milk.
• Champorado: Chocolate rice porridge with tablea (cocoa tablets) and coconut milk or evaporated milk.
• Cassava Cake: Baked cassava dessert with grated coconut milk and condensed milk.
• Ginataang Kamoteng Kahoy: Cassava or kamoteng kahoy simmered in coconut milk.
• Ube Halaya: Sweet purple yam jam cooked with coconut milk.
• Espasol: Sweet rice cakes made with toasted glutinous rice flour and sometimes macapuno. Ube Espasol is an ube-flavored variation.
• Ube Kalamay: Sticky, chewy ube rice cakes cooked with coconut milk, then topped with latik.

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