Halo-halo

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Halo-halo

Halo-halo (from Tagalog halo, "mix mix") is a popular Filipino dessert that is a mixture of shaved ice and milk to which are added various boiled sweet beans and fruits, and served cold in a tall glass or bowl.

There is no specific recipe for this dessert, and a wide variety of ingredients are used. The order in which the ingredients are added varies widely. Primary ingredients generally include boiled red mung beans, kidney beans, garbanzos, sugar palm fruit (kaong), coconut sport (macapuno), and plantains caramelized in sugar. Other components may include jackfruit (langka), star apple, tapioca or sago, nata de coco, purple yam (ube) or sweet potato (kamote), sweetened corn kernels or pounded crushed young rice (pinipig), leche flan or custard, ice cream and gelatin. Other fruits, such as papayas, avocados, kiwifruit, bananas or cherries, may also be added. Some preparations also include ice cream on top of the halo-halo.

Generally, condensed milk or evaporated milk is used instead of fresh milk, due to the tropical climate of the Philippines.

In terms of arrangement, most of the ingredients (fruits, beans, and other sweets) are first placed inside the tall glass, followed by the shaved ice. This is then sprinkled with sugar, and topped with either (or a combination of) leche flan, ube halaya, or ice cream. Condensed milk is poured into the mixture upon serving.

The dessert exemplifies the "east-meets-west" culture of the Filipinos, with the ingredients used coming from a wide variety of influences (to cite some examples: red mung beans which are from the Chinese, garbanzos from the Indian, leche flan from the Spanish, and shaved ice itself which was introduced to the islands by the Americans).

[edit] Varieties of Halo Halo

Plain Halo Halo- a combination of the above named ingredients with the exception of ice cream.
Halo Halo Special- a combination of the above ingredients including ice cream and pinipig (pounded puffed rice).

[edit] Halo-Halo in popular culture

Halo-halo was featured as a Quickfire Challenge dish in the seventh episode of the American reality television series Top Chef (season 4). The halo-halo, which featured avocado, mango, kiwi and nuts, was prepared by Filipino-American contestant Dale Talde and named as one of the top three Quickfire Challenge dishes by guest judge Johnny Iuzzini of Jean-Georges. Talde also made the dish in another episode.