Parang, Bataan

Today, I dared to go on public transportation on my own. After a quick lunch at the same place, I hailed a tricycle and asked to be taken to the jeepney terminal. The driver asked, "Balanga?" I said I was going to Parang. He asked if I wanted him to take me to Parang instead. Yesterday, when Marlon picked me up from the hotel, he had asked a tricycle driver to take us to Parang and the driver refused. So, this time I told the driver that he could just drop me off at the jeepney terminal. He explained that he was picking up somebody from Balanga anyway. So I hopped in. I asked how much he wanted for my fare; he said it was up to me. The jeepney fare yesterday was PhP16 per person, so I gave him PhP25. I later learned that tricycles rarely agree to go the distance between Bagac and Parang, but, if they do, they charge at least PhP50.

Yesterday and today, I met with old classmates in Parang. Today, we were invited to a seven-year-old's birthday party. At the party, there was one dish that I really enjoyed. It's called ginataang bilo-bilo (ginataan means cooked in gata, which is coconut milk; bilo-bilo means dough balls which are made with sticky rice flour).

Marlon's mom gave me the recipe:

1 k malagkit na galapong
11 tasang gata ng niyog (o 3 niyog na kinudkod at kinatas)
1 tasang langka, hinimay
1/2 k kamote
6 saging na saba na nabalatan at hiniwa
1/2 k asukal

1. Magtira ng kalahating tasang galapong at itabi. Dagdagan ng kaunting tubig ang natirang galapong at bilog-bilugin sa nais na laki.
2. Itabi ang isang tasang gata.
3. Timplahan ng asukal ang sampung tasang gata ayon sa panlasa. Pakuluin. Habang hinihintay ang pagkulo ay halo-haluin upang hindi magbuo-buo ang gata.
4. Kapag kumukulo na, isa-isang ihulog ang bilo-bilo habang hinahalo pa rin. Hindi dapat sabay-sabay ang hulog ng bilo-bilo sapagkat magdidikit-dikit ito.
5. Isunod ang kamote, saging na saba, langka, at ang isang tasang galapong na tinunaw sa tubig.
6. Ibuhos ang natirang isang tasang gata kapag luto na ang lahat ng sangkap. Halo-haluin ng dalawang minuto.

:-D

In English:

1 k sticky rice flour
11 cups of coconut milk (or 3 coconuts, shredded and milked)
1 cup jackfruit, shredded
1/2 k yams*
6 plantain bananas, peeled and cut
1/2 k sugar

1. Set aside a half cup of sticky rice flour. Add a little water to the remaining sticky rice flour and roll into balls of the desired size (typically an inch in diameter).
2. Set aside one cup of coconut milk.
3. Add sugar to the ten cups of coconut milk according to taste. Boil. While waiting for the coconut milk to boil, keep stirring to prevent the coconut milk from setting.
4. When it starts to boil, drop the sticky rice balls one by one while continuing to stir. Do not drop the balls all at ones; otherwise, they would stick together.
5. Add the yams, plantain bananas, jackfruit, and one cup of sticky rice flour diluted in water.
6. Pour the remaining cup of coconut milk when the rest of the ingredients are cooked. Continue to stir for two minutes.

* kamote is actually an off-white root, related to the yam, but not as sweet.