Ginataang Bilo Bilo

In a pot over high heat, bring water to a boil. Peel and cut sweet potatoes, add to the pot of boiling water and reduce heat to medium-high. Cook for about 5 minutes or until tender.

Transfer potatoes to a strainer and run under cold water to stop the cooking, reserving the cooking water.

Add the cooked potatoes into a blender and add ¼ cup of water from the pot they cooked in. Blend until smooth.

In a mixing bowl, combine the sweet potato paste and glutinous rice flour.

Use your hands to form the dough into a ball. The texture should feel slightly sticky.

Roll out the bilo bilo to your preferred size, but keep in mind they grow to about 20% more in the coconut milk. Pinch 1 teaspoon worth of dough into your hand and roll the dough in between your palms to form a smaller ball. Repeat with all the dough. This should make about 24-30 balls of dough. Set the bilo bilo on a plate until later.

In a mixing bowl, combine the pandan water and glutinous rice flour until it forms a ball of dough. It should feel slightly sticky.

Roll out the bilo bilo to your preferred size, but keep in mind they grow to about 20% more in the coconut milk. Pinch 1 teaspoon of dough into your hand and roll it in between your palms to form a small ball of dough. Repeat with all the dough until you have about 20-24 pieces. Set aside on a plate until later.

Note: This method of cooking mini sago/white tapioca pearls worked very well for the Tapioca Perle Sago brand (purchased from 99 Ranch). It’s an adjusted method of our 30 & 30 method, but since these are mini pearls we reduced the timing to 10 minutes active boiling and 10 minutes resting. I would recommend following the instructions on YOUR pearl package first. In a small pot, add the filtered water and bring to a boil. Add the mini sago or white tapioca pearls and cook for 10 minutes while stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Remove the pearls from the stove and cover with a lid for another 10 minutes.

Strain the pearls and run under cold water to remove excess starch. Transfer the pearls to a bowl and cover with cool water. Set aside until later.

In another pot over medium heat, combine coconut milk, filtered water, and sugar. Bring the liquid to a boil and add the purple sweet potato and orange sweet potato. Cook for about 5-8 minutes or until the roots are tender.

Add the purple and pandan bilo bilo. Stir to prevent the bilo bilo from sticking and cook for another 3-5 minutes until the bilo bilo are soft and cooked. You can test this by taking a bilo bilo and biting into the rice ball. If it’s completely soft throughout, it’s finished.

Add the saba banana slices, jackfruit, and mini sago/white tapioca pearls in the pot and cook for an additional 2 minutes until bananas are warmed and softened.

Remove from the heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Serve warm or cold.