I’m a dessert person and I love to make any dessert which I came across. Mango Sago with pomelo is one of irresistible dessert if you are a mango lover and I love the one I ate in HKG. This recipe has been buried in my digital recipe folder for quite sometime as I couldn’t get pomelo till the day I saw in supermarket. Without any hesitant, I grab them home and start my day at my kitchen nook.

I love this recipe to bits as it awesome for singapore’s weather.



Ingredients:
(Serves 6-8)
Adapted from Zu’s Kitchen
- 800ml mango juice (freshly squeezed using fruit juice extractor or ready-made; I use Marigold PeelFresh)
- 250ml evaporated milk
- 4 large ripe honey mangoes, cubed
- sugar syrup by mixing 2 tbsp caster sugar with just enough hot water to dissolve
- 100g pearl sago, soak in water for 20 minutes till white and enlarged, then rinsed
- Pomelo, peeled and sacs separated, about 50g or more

Tools:- Blender

Method:
1. Boil a pot of water, add sago and boil for a short while till the sago is transparent. Run the cooked sago through a fine sieve and running water to remove excess starch. Set aside.
2. Reserve one quarter of the cubed mangoes for garnishing (step 4). In a blender, blend the rest of the mangoes and the evaporated milk for a short while till well mixed.
3. Mix mango smoothie prepared in step 2 with mango juice. Add sugar syrup to taste. Add cooked pearl sago prepared in step 1 to the mixture. Chill in fridge.
4. To serve, portion out to individual serving bowls and garnish with pomelo sacs and cubed mangoes.

I heart this dessert – Cheng Thng! It is a popular dessert in Singapore. It is sweet and packs with wholesome goodness from the liberal use of nuts such as gingko nuts, lotus seeds, longan, red dates, persimmons etc… The use of these ingredients adds natural sweetness to the dessert so only a small amount of sugar is needed to enhance the taste if desired. This dessert is equally tasty when served hot or chilled.

Ingredients:
20 prepared or canned lotus seeds (莲子)
20 prepared or canned gingko nuts (白果)
1 small head white fungus (雪儿) (shuit yee)
30g large sago
10-12 sterculia seeds/mollow nuts, lightly bruised
2 sweet potatoes
2 dried persimmons (optional)
12 whole dried longans (龙眼干)
10 dried red pitted dates (红枣)
1 litre (4 cups) of water
2 pandan leaves, knotted
150g (51/4 oz) rock sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Method:
1.(For Canned type) Drain lotus seeds and gingko nuts and rinse under cold tap.
2.(For Fresh type) Soaked lotus seeds and gingko nuts overnight. Remove the shell from the gingko nuts and “heart” from the lotus seeds.
3.Soak white fungus in cold water for 15 minutes or until swollen.
4.Soak sterculia seed in ample water for 20-30 minutes until the flesh has expanded into a loose, jelly like mass. Peel off and discard the skin. Drain well
5.Rinse dried persimmons and slice into 1-cm, (1/2-in) stripes, removing the hard tip.
6.Bring water to boil in a large pot and add knotted pandan leaves, rock sugar, granulated sugar, logan meat, red dates, sweet potatoes and dried persimmon. Simmer gently for 30 minutes.
7.Add lotus seeds, gingko nuts, white fungus, sterculia seeds and sago. Simmer for 20 minutes.
8.Remove pandan leaves. Serve hot, or let cool completely and serve over crushed ice.

Preparation of sago pearls:
1.Boil about 3 cups of water in a saucepan. Add in sago pearls and bring to boil.
2.Once it boils, cover saucepan and turn off heat. Leave for 20 minutes.
3.Remove the lid, stir the mixture, turn on the heat and bring it to boil again.
4.Once it boils the second time, cover again, turn off the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes. The sago should be cooked by now.
5.Drain the sago from the hot water and rinse. Soak in cold water (to stop it cooking further). When completely cool drain again and set aside.