Chinese Mango Sago Dessert

Instructions

1. 1

   Peel the ripe mangoes and cut the fruit into 1 cm cubes, reserving half for blending and half for topping. Set up a medium saucepan on the stove and get a blender, a fine-mesh strainer, and a bowl of ice water ready. Measure out the sago pearls, whole milk, coconut milk, and caster sugar.

2. 2

   Bring the 800 ml of water to a rolling boil in the medium saucepan over high heat. Add the sago pearls gradually while stirring continuously with a wooden spoon so they do not clump or stick to the bottom. Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pearls are mostly translucent.

3. 3

   Turn off the stove heat completely, cover the saucepan tightly with its lid, and let the sago pearls rest undisturbed for 10 minutes. The residual heat will finish cooking the centers until they become fully clear and transparent. If the pearls look dry, add 50 ml of warm water before covering.

4. 4

   Pour the cooked sago pearls into a fine-mesh strainer and drain the hot cooking water completely. Immediately submerge or rinse the strainer under cold tap water or ice water for 1 minute to stop the cooking process, wash away sticky surface starch, and create a firm, chewy texture. Drain well again.

5. 5

   Place half of the diced mango, the coconut milk, whole milk, and caster sugar into a blender. Blend on high speed for 1 minute until completely smooth and creamy without any fruit lumps. Taste the sweet mango base; if you prefer it sweeter, stir in an extra pinch of sugar until dissolved.

6. 6

   Divide the drained, translucent sago pearls evenly among 4 dessert bowls. Pour the smooth, chilled mango-coconut milk mixture over the pearls and stir gently with a spoon to combine. Top each serving generously with the remaining fresh 1 cm mango cubes and serve immediately while cold.