Simple Homemade Dessert

It is a wonderful thing to be able to replicate a popular dessert at home.

I copied a Mango Sago with Pomelo recipe from this Food and Travel magazine several months ago. The reason why it took me so long to try is that I never seems to be able to buy both the mango and pomelo at the same time?! The opportunity finally arrived when I saw Thai honey mangoes on sale, and at the same time spotted a full cart of pomelos at the neighbourhood fruit stall. Even though I bought both fruits on the same day, I wasn't able to prepare the dessert right away as I had to wait for several days before the mangoes were fully ripened.

The recipe appears to be simple and straight forward, actually it is too simple since it doesn't even provide any instructions on how to cook the sago pearls. So, for a lousy cook like me, it is not surprising that I burnt the sago pearls while trying to cook them in a pot of cold water! I only managed to find out later that the correct way is to cook the pearls in a pot of boiling water, that way, the pearls would not stick to the bottom of the pan and there won't be any chance of getting them burnt. A lesson learnt!

I tweak the recipe a little by replacing the coconut milk with fresh milk. I am not sure whether this homemade version is comparable to the ones you get from restaurants and dessert shops, but, I am very satisfied with how delicious and refreshing it turned out. The taste was not compromised even though I used low fat fresh milk and low-fat evaporated milk.

Here's sharing with you a small tip...I placed the dessert in serving bowls and popped them in the freezer for about an hour or so before serving. The mixture turned a little icy and this became the best dessert especially on a hot and humid day :)

Mango Sago with Pomelo

Ingredients:
100g sago pearls
150g mango puree**
1 fresh mango, peeled and diced
1/4 fresh pomelo, peeled and separated
200 ml fresh milk** (I used Meiji Low Fat milk)
250 ml evaporated milk (I used low fat version)
120g white granulated sugar**
200 ml water
200g ice cubes

(**note:
- original recipe calls for 120ml coconut milk and 80ml of full cream milk, I replaced it with low-fat fresh milk.
- I cut down the sugar from 150g to 120g
- I used 150g mango puree instead of 30g)

Method:

1. To make the mango puree, remove the flesh of 1 mango and blend it in a blender. If you do not have a blender like me, simply mash the mango (use very soft and ripened mango) with a fork.
2. Soak sago pearls in water for 5 mins, drain and set aside. Place about 2 litres of water in a large pot and bring it to a full boil. Add the sago pearls and cook until translucent (about 5 ~ 10mins). Keep the water at a rolling boil all the time, stirring occasionally to prevent the pearls from setting to the bottom of the pot. Remove from heat, cover the pot and set aside for about 5 mins. Drain and rinse the sago pearls under running water until cool (this helps to remove any excess starch), drain and set aside.
3. Mix fresh milk, evaporated milk, sugar and water in a pot. Heat over low heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add the ice cubes. When the ice cubes are melted, add in mango puree. Stir to combine. Mix in the sago pearls.
4. Allow the mixture to cool completely and chill it in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
5. Serve with diced mango and pomelo.