Filipino
Halo-Halo
Filipino halo-halo with homemade sweetened saba, selected fruits, beans, coconut, jellies, fine shaved ice, milk, ube, flan, and pinipig.
6 servings · 45 minutes prep · 15 minutes cook
Ingredients
Sweetened Saba Bananas
- 2 ripe saba bananas, about 8 ounces, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup dark muscovado sugar
- 1 fresh or frozen pandan leaf, tied in a knot
- 1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Assorted Mix-Ins — Choose Five
- 1/2 cup sweetened red mung beans, chilled and well drained
- 1/2 cup kaong in light syrup, chilled and well drained
- 1/2 cup nata de coco, chilled and well drained
- 1/2 cup macapuno strings, chilled and well drained
- 1/2 cup sweetened jackfruit strips, chilled and well drained
- 1/2 cup firm red or green gulaman, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
Ice and Toppings
- 6 cups very finely shaved ice
- 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk, thoroughly chilled
- 6 tablespoons dense, high-quality ube halaya made primarily from purple yam
- 6 firm, 2-ounce slices of egg-rich leche flan
- 1/3 cup toasted pinipig
Directions
Make the Sweetened Saba
- With a sharp knife, slice the peeled saba bananas 1/2 inch thick. Combine the water, muscovado sugar, pandan, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the saba bananas and cook gently, turning once, until tender but intact and the syrup lightly coats a spoon, 10 to 15 minutes. Discard the pandan, cool the bananas in their syrup, then refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.
Choose and Portion the Mix-Ins
- Chill six 16-ounce glasses for at least 1 hour. Taste the prepared mix-ins and choose five, aiming for a balance of bean, coconut, fruit, and jelly or palm fruit rather than five similar textures. Drain the chosen mix-ins thoroughly so their commercial syrups do not muddy the shaved ice.
- Place 1 tablespoon sweetened saba and 1 tablespoon of each of the five selected mix-ins in the bottom of every glass. Drizzle each portion with 2 teaspoons of the chilled saba syrup.
Shave the Ice and Build the Glasses
- Shave the ice immediately before assembly until it is fine and snowy rather than pebbly. Pack 1 cup shaved ice into each glass, pressing only enough to form a mound without turning it solid.
- Pour 1/4 cup cold evaporated milk slowly over each mound so it penetrates the ice. Top each glass with 1 tablespoon ube halaya, one slice leche flan, and a generous sprinkle of toasted pinipig.
Mix and Serve
- Serve at once with a long spoon. Mix thoroughly from the bottom before eating so the banana syrup, milk, ice, and inclusions become evenly distributed.
