How to Make Halo-Halo

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I was restless. Restless and bored. And the heat wasn’t helping at all. The poor old fan in my room had been running all day for days, humming furiously without a moment’s rest. I spent the entire morning reading and had nothing planned for the rest of the day. All I could think about was how I could make the blistering summer days fly by more quickly.

Summer had always had that effect on me while growing up back home. The excitement of being away from the rigor of school would wear off so quickly and the long summer days would drag without end. I could think of a million things I would want to do: learn how to swim, take photographs, or travel to places I had never been but those were luxuries my family couldn’t afford. My dad was busy trying to make ends meet and I was certain that a camera or a trip was the last thing on his mind. I never regretted it, though. Okay, maybe I did. I’d be completely dishonest with you if I’d say there were no regrets.

But summer wasn’t just all about ennui and regrets. Not at all. When I think of summer I think of my childhood friends and our mundane yet memorable adventures. I think of my radio and my mixed tapes filled with mushy ballads and Cyndi Lauper. And I think of the jars of sweet red mung beans, bananas, jackfruits, and ube jam in our fridge and the ice wrapped in plastic in the freezer. I think of my mom laboriously shaving ice into fine, delicate powder and making halo-halo — a towering stack of sweet fruits and beans mixed together with ice and milk. The delicious hodgepodge of summer treats seemed to make those long, hot summer days go by more swiftly.

And wherever I am, even if it’s a hundred degrees or way below zero, rain or shine, a tall glass of halo-halo will always hit the spot and remind me of home.

Halo-Halo Recipe

leche flan
purple yam jam (haleyang ube)
jackfruit (langka)
saba bananas
sweet potatoes (kamote)
adzuki or red mung beans
young coconut (macapuno)
agar-agar, or gelatin
evaporated milk, or whole milk
shaved ice

Halo-halo is the quintessential Filipino dessert.  It’s a towering stack of sweetened fruits and beans mixed with shaved ice and milk.

In a tall glass or a deep bowl, stack the ingredients one on top of the other in whichever order you wish.  I usually start with a thick layer of purple yam jam at the bottom and work my way up by layering young coconut, saba bananas, adzuki beans and the rest of the ingredients.  Leave some space at the top for the shaved ice.  Cover with shaved ice  to the rim.  Generously pour in evaporated milk or whole milk and top with a spoonful of leche flan.  Mix everything together.