Halo-halo - Filipino Dessert

Summer is already here and you know what that means – tan, beach, and no classes (fortunately for students). But there is still an important thing about summer why we really long for it, and that’s summer desserts. And of course, what’s on top of our list? That’s none other than our favorite Philippine food – Halo-halo.
Ever since I was a kid, Halo-halo is already one of my favorite summer treat (actually not just summer, almost the whole year!). The sweet taste of its ingredients topped with creamy, ice cream or leche flan just makes everyone seeing it crave for it. So, what’s with this halo-halo that makes us Filipinos ask for more? Let’s start from the top – Ice cream. We all know that ice cream alone is already a wonderful treat during summer, and combining it with many other sweet ingredients and (of course) a lot of ice, everyone would be loving it! The next cool thing about halo-halo is the combination of many wonderful fruits and other ingredients inside. Red beans, garbanzos, kaong, macapuno, langka, gulaman, sago, nata de coco, sweet potato, plantain caramelized in sugar, pinipig, and leche flan are just some of the ingredients you can add to halo-halo. Well, all of these ingredients in just one clear glass, who would say no to this? And one good thing about halo-halo is that there is no limit on what you want to add, as long as you think that it tastes good, go, add it! Another great thing about halo-halo is the ice. Halo-halo is known for having many shaved ice that adds to the excitement of eating it. Ice cream, many delicious ingredient, all covered with ice, who could say no to this cool summer treat? So, now that we know what makes halo-halo a Filipino favorite, why don’t we try to do one? The good thing about this is that you don’t have to exert much just for you to experience the fun of eating halo-halo. So, how do we prepare our favorite halo-halo?
Halo-halo, as what its name mean is all about mixing different ingredients that all-in-all makes a good tasting dessert. So, basically, these are your ingredients 1 ripe large banana, 2 ripe mangoes or 1 cup canned ripe mango, 1 cup firm gelatin set into gel and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, 1 cup canned ripe jackfruit, 1/2 cup sweet corn or chick peas (garbanzos), 1 cup young shredded coconut, fresh or canned, 1 cup cooked sweet yams or (ube halaya) glutinous purple yam, cut into 1-inch cubes, 2 cup shaved ice, 2 cup milk, 4 scoops of favorite ice cream, 1/2 cup chopped peanuts or rice crispies, and if available leche flan. So, here’s how it’s done, first, peel the mangoes and slice its meat in ½ inch cubes, discard the seed. Now, prepare tall glasses from where your halo-halo will be put, and divide the ingredients into equal parts, depending on how many tall glasses you’ve prepared. In each glass, place ¼ of each ingredient. Add the ingredients layer by layer. You can now top this with ½ cup of shaved ice. Pour milk of ¼ cup on top of the shaved ice. Then put Ice cream on top and leche flan or ube. And that’s how you do your very own halo-halo.
Halo-halo is truly a Filipino recipe all of us love. So, why not try to prepare some for your family this summer! Enjoy eating!