Sago Gula Melaka is a South East Asian dessert. It is a pudding of sorts, made of chewy, translucent sago pearls, drenched in coconut milk and drizzled with gula melaka syrup. This oh-so-good, inexpensive treat only uses a handful of ingredients and and about half an hour of your time. What’s not to like?
The Sago: Sago is an edible starch, made from the pith of tropical palm trees. Do not confuse it with tapioca pearls which are made using the starch of the cassava root.
Cooking the sago to perfection is more than half the battle done. Since these are small sago pearls, there is no need to soak them in cold water then bring to the boil. This will only render the pearls into a morass of mush. In the words of Indiana Jones, trust me.
What we’re after is to be able to distinguish the little pearls from each other even though they’ll be spooned and squished together in a mold. Different strokes for different folks and I’ve found that the following techniques work for the small sago pearls (big sago pearls are a different story).
Use a lot of water. There’s no precise measurement to the amount of water used but it should cover the sago pearls by two inches minimum. Once boiling, lower the heat to a rolling simmer, tip in the pearls, stir a couple of times. Then leave it to cook. I give it a couple of stirs every now and then, just because.
Cook the pearls in a rolling simmer. It’s strong enough to keep the pearls moving in the hot water which means the sago won’t sink and stick to the bottom of the pan. Yet the heat is low enough to ensure that the pearls do not get overcooked. Once there’s only a small white dot left on the pearls, take the pan off the heat. The residual heat from the water will finish cooking the sago through. Finally, to stop the pearls from cooking, strain the sago and rinse it under cool water.
After rinsing, gently stir the sago while still in the strainer. Stirring drains off excess starch and releases any trapped heat. Repeat the process of rinsing and stirring two more times. As it cools and drains more starch, you’ll notice individual little pearls start to stand out from the proverbial crowd. The pearls are ready.
The Gula Melaka: this sugar comes from the sap of palm tree trunks. It originates from the Malaysian state of Malacca; hence the English name malacca sugar. Gula is sugar, and malacca is Melaka. I can’t explain the taste of gula melaka. Its sweetness is neither caramel- nor toffee-like. No description is apt or maybe I just don’t want to label it. It does, though, have an earthy smoky sweetness that I’ve not come across in other sugars.
Gula melaka is packed in cylindrical shapes. These are easy to crack, shave or grate but difficult to cut or slice. The best is to use a blunt instrument – the handle of a table knife will do – and tap on the sugar until it breaks off into crumbly odd-sized shards. The sugar is thick so a small amount of water is added to thin out the syrup. I find that 3 tablespoons offers the right viscosity. The water also prevents the sugar from re-crystallizing when stored in the fridge.
Assembly is a no-brainer. Simply invert am individual molded sago, generously pour coconut milk on it and spoon a heaping amount of gula melaka syrup. You’re all set!
Sago Gula Melaka
Difficulty: Easy5
minutes30
minutesThe amounts for the gula melaka and coconut milk are fluid: you can make more or less than what’s stated in the recipe, depending on preference for these two ingredients. The recipe can be doubled, too.
Ingredients
150g small sago pearls
100g gula melaka (palm sugar)
1 pandan (screwpine) leaf
3 tablespoons water
200ml coconut milk, cold from the fridge, with a pinch of salt
Instructions
- Have ready 6 ramekins or molds. You can also use a standard muffin pan.
- Bring a medium pot with lots of water to the boil. Add sago pearls and lower the heat to achieve a rolling simmer and stir the pearls. Continue to stir the sago every few minutes.
- When the pearls only have a small white dot at the center, take the pot off the heat. Cover the pot and wait for the residual heat of the water to cook the sago through, about 5 minutes. Stir a couple of times.
- When there are very few visible white dots, strain the sago and rinse with cool water. Stir the pearls in the strainer to drain off any excess starch. Continue to rinse and stir until the sago is cool to the touch.
- Spoon the sago into the ramekins or molds or muffin pan. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge until ready to assemble, minimum 1 hour, best 2 hours.
- Melt the gula melaka in a small saucepan over low heat. Tie the pandan leaf into a knot and put it in the saucepan. Add up to 3 tablespoons of water, depending on how thick or thin you want the syrup to be. Leave to melt. Set aside to cool.
- To serve, invert one ramekin of sago in a bowl. Pour as much or as little coconut milk as you want. Spoon as little or as much gula melaka syrup as you want.
- This dessert is best eaten on the day that it’s made. If not, cover the coconut milk and keep in the fridge for 3 days. The sago and syrup will keep for longer, up to a week if covered. For the sago, use plastic wrap to touch and cover the surface of the pearls to keep them from drying out. If the gula melaka crystallizes, simply reheat over low heat.
