There is Binignit, a traditional Visayan sweet stew made from slices of plantain bananas, taro, sweet potato (camote), sago, landang (local tapioca) and jackfruit in coconut milk (gata).
Then there is also Bilo Bilo, a popular glutinous balls stew made from, of course, glutinous balls, camote and nangka in coconut milk. The rice balls are very much like the Japanese Mochi in texture and in taste. Just like palitaw, they are one of my kakanin favorite list.
I love both versions but I do have some preference when it comes to the ingredient content ratio. I always pick out the sweet plantains, sago and mochi and jackfruit if possible and leave camote behind. Nothing against camote, I just don't like to cook it this way. Baked, boiled or fried perhaps but stews? Not really...unless it's the orange taiwan variety which is sweet.
There are so many variations of this dish throughout the Philippine region that I felt like I need to make one with majority of my favorite ingredients in it. So here I am in my Kitchen Lab cooking up a hybrid of Bilo-Bilo and Binignit. Although this not my original recipe, there are other similar recipe like these out there that are just as good. I used ingredients that are easily found in our local grocery here in Cebu even if it's not Lenten season. ( This dish is a staple during Holy Week in the Philippines).
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup camote or sweet potato (I used the taiwan variety)
- 2 cups water
- 2 200ml can of Coconut Cream
- 5 medium sized ripe plantain bananas
- 1/2 cup white sago (or colored if you prefer)
- 2 tbsp tapioca ( or white/ purple landang if you prefer..use a different amount of landang according to how thick you like the stew)
- 1/2 cup fresh nangka sliced into strips (or nangka preserves in jar if fresh is not available)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
Ube flavored Bilo-Bilo:
- 1 1/2 cup malagkit flour or glutinous rice flour
- 1/2 cup water (adjust more or less according to consistency of the dough)
- 1 tsp Ube flavoring ( I used McCormick brand)
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
Procedure for Bilo-Bilo:
Mix the brown sugar and Ube flavoring in the water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. The Ube flavoring is also food coloring that's why the bilo-bilo is colored purple.
Use this to mix into the flour to form a dough. The dough should be firm enough that it will hold together.
Form into long 3/4 inch cylindrical tubes as shown and cut into uniform segments. This will serve as a guide to make uniform balls. Form them by hand. Set aside
Procedure for the stew:
Peel and slice the plantain bananas into medallions.
Boil water and cook the camote for about a minute and then add the cooked sago and nangka. Drop the bilo-bilo balls one by one in the water.
While the water is simmering, sprinkle the tapioca over the stew and stir.
When the balls float, add the coconut milk and the plantain bananas (add this last if they are ripe because they cook faster) and simmer until the rest of the ingredients are fully cooked but not over done. Add brown sugar and turn off the fire.
Serve warm.
Note: I used tapioca and the ube flavoring within the bilo-bilo because I want my stew to be creamy in color not purple like most binignits said are.
