Recipe: Sago with Salted Gula Melaka

Growing up, Hubby's mum would make him dessert everyday... one of his favorite was her tapioca pudding. Recently, he tried sago with gula melaka and loved it! He commented that sago with gula melaka is really similar to the tapioca pudding he had as a child.

So, we tried making it at home too and served it to our friends during one of our dinner parties... and yay it was a huge hit!

Sago with salted gula melaka

First, you will need to cook the sago. It helps if you rinse it under running water to rinse off some starch before you begin. Cook for about 15 minutes until the sago is translucent and then rinse again to remove the excess starch. The sago is then chilled and just before serving, unmoulded and topped with fresh coconut milk/cream and gula melaka. For our version, we made salted gula melaka as we feel the added salt really brings the flavours together better. Use a good quality salt such as Maldon salt - yup salted gula melaka tastes just like salted caramel ;) Yum.

Easy Asian dessert everyone should try! :)

Sago with salted gula melaka
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes 9


Ingredients
250g sago
1.5l water

Coconut milk from 1/2 fresh grated coconut

For the salted gula melaka
150g gula melaka, chopped
3 tbsp water
2-3 pinches of Maldon salt


1. Rinse the sago under running tap water for 2 minutes. Place in a pot of boiling water and cook for 15 minutes over medium low heat. After 15 minutes, put on the cover and set aside for 5-10 minutes for it to turn completely translucent.

2. Scoop some cooked sago onto a sieve and then place under running water and rinse until excess starch is removed.

3. Grease nine 100-ml pudding moulds with some cooking oil. Fill each mould with sago pearls and then chill for at least two hours in the fridge.

4. Add about 200ml of warm water to the grated coconut. Leave for 2-3 minutes, then squeeze to obtain coconut milk. If not using immediately, keep the coconut milk in the fridge until required. Fresh coconut milk will only keep for about 1 day. Otherwise, buy 200ml of coconut milk.

5. To make the salted gula melaka, place water and chopped gula melaka in a pan over medium low heat and stir well until the palm sugar is dissolved. You should get a thick syrup, add more water if you like a thinner consistency. Add 2-3 pinches of Maldon salt and taste. It should taste sweet, with a salty after taste.

6. To serve, unmould the sago into a bowl or deep plate. Spoon 2-3 generous tablespoonfuls of coconut milk over it and 1 tablespoonful of salted gula melaka on top. Enjoy!

Note: Click here to read about coconut cream vs coconut milk.

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