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Sago is commonly used in several Chinese desserts, soups, and drinks. You can use it for milk teas, puddings, and sweet soups. If you want to add a chewy texture that sticks to your teeth, you have to learn how to cook sago. You can cook this yourself at home in just 5 easy steps! However, there are a few techniques that you should know about to have a successful sago result. Continue with this in-depth guide on how to cook sago properly.
What Is Sago?
If you don’t know yet, sago is a staple ingredient for Chinese or Asian desserts that is extracted from tropical sago palm trees. It is made from unrefined starch taken from the tree’s pith. Acquiring sago for daily use is a bit of a challenge since sago is pricey and is less available in the market.
Why? It generally takes 10 years for palm trees to mature, which is longer than other trees. You will typically find off-white sago pearls, while some are typically brown or pink in color.
The size of sago is about 2mm in diameter and may come in uneven sizes since most are manually rolled and not factory-made. Regarding taste and texture, sago pearls are neutral-tasting, soft, and chewy. You can get sago in local Asian grocery stores or in online supermarkets like Amazon.
How To Use Sago Pearls
Once you have sago pearls cooked and ready, you can make as many desserts and drinks as you wish. You can use it to make Mango Pomelo Sago Dessert 楊枝甘露, Mango Sago Dessert, Grass jelly drink, and Sweet Red Bean Soup with Sago. If you love pudding, try it with Chinese Coconut Sago Pudding made with gelatine, coconut cream, and sugar.
For a delightful and refreshing drink with a fun chewy texture, add sago with Winter Melon Tea or a mango smoothie with coconut milk. Mangoes are not the only fruit that pairs well with sago as you can use any fresh fruit you prefer. You can also use it for a sweet red bean soup recipe.
If you enjoy soups, try it as well with sweet mung bean soup with coconut milk. Another sweet dessert worth making is Taro Sago (Tapioca) Dessert Soup, using only taro cubes, rock sugar, and coconut milk.
Essential Tips When Cooking Sago
Cooking sago is not as simple as boiling it and waiting. You have to keep in mind that there are a few cooking techniques that need to be done to ensure the best texture possible. So, before getting started, follow these essential tips when cooking sago.
- Use an adequate amount of water: Use a generous amount of water to achieve the desired chewy texture. Moreover, it helps prevent the sago pearls from sticking and clumping.
- Keep stirring continuously: Stir continuously to make sure that the sago pearls don’t stick to the bottom of the pan and not clump together.
- Cook sago pearls alone: It is best to cook them alone with water and not with other ingredients such as milk or sauces. You may think it is the same thing and can save you time. However, it will turn the dessert starchy and murky. When cooking sago, you will have to rinse the sago to remove starch. Thus, it is not ideal to cook sago with your main ingredients.
- Sit in hot water, rinse in cold water: After boiling the sago, do not drain it just yet. Let it sit in the boiled water for 15 minutes. In this way, it absorbs more water and continues to become more translucent as it cooks in hot water. Afterward, rinse it in cold water to remove excess starch and prevent clumping.
- Cooked sago is translucent: Cooked sago should be translucent, without a white center. Moreover, it should be chewy and slightly firm to bite. It is best to consume cooked sago in one to two days. Anything more than this will cause it to lose its chewiness.
- Sago alternatives: There are several alternatives that can easily replace sago pearls. The best and closest alternative is tapioca pearls. Tapioca pearls are usually used interchangeably with sago since it is generally cheaper and more available in the market. You can learn about the difference with the guide Sago Vs. Tapioca Pearls. If you can’t find sago or tapioca, you can make your own at home by following my recipe How To Make Homemade Tapioca Pearls With 3 Ingredients. Aside from tapioca, other great alternatives for a chewy dessert are boba, sweet potato balls, lychee, grass jelly, and coffee jelly.
Things You Need To Cook Sago
You simply need a cooking pot and a stirrer to cook the sago in hot boiling water. Although any cooking pot works well for this recipe, I recommend using a clay pot to retain moisture and juiciness. Clay pots let the heat and moisture circulate throughout which helps have an evenly cooked sago.
Aside from water and sago, go ahead and prepare your chosen dessert ingredients. You can start with mango cubes and coconut milk first for easy preparation. Here’s what you need for this recipe:
Kitchenware
- Cooking pot or clay pot with cover
- Stirrer
- Strainer
- Bowl for rinsing
- Bowl for your chosen dessert
Ingredients
- Water
- Sago
- Dessert ingredients (such as mango cubes and coconut milk)
Recipe Instructions To Cook Sago
The recipe steps are easy to follow. It only takes 5 simple steps to cook sago for your dessert, soup, or drink. Generally, the sago pearls are boiled until translucent and rinsed in cold water before mixing in with your desired dessert.
To help you get started, watch my short tutorial video on Instagram and Tiktok. In summary, the five basic steps are:
- Boil ample water and add sago while stirring continuously.
- Cover and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Check if there are still white spots in the center. (There is usually still a small white spot in the middle of tapioca pearls after 20 minutes.)
- You will find a small white spot in the middle of tapioca pearls, no worries, turn off the heat and let it sit in the hot water for another 15 minutes. Then, rinse with cold water.
- Transfer to a bowl and prepare your dessert.
Below is a more detailed guide on how to cook sago:
In a cooking pot, bring water to a boil. The water should be ample enough to cook the sago.
Once it boils, add the sago and stir continuously. This prevents it from sticking to the bottom and clumping.
Then, cover the pot and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, check for white spots in the center of the sago.(There is usually still a small white spot in the middle of tapioca pearls after 20 minutes.)
Turn off the heat and let it sit in the hot water for another 15 minutes. Sitting in hot water allows more water absorption and makes them more translucent over time. Cooked sago should be transparent. If the center is still white, continue cooking on medium heat for several minutes until you no longer see a white center.
Then, transfer the sago to a bowl and rinse in cold water. Cold water is essential to remove residual starch and prevent clumping of the sago.
Afterward, drain the water using a sieve. Lastly, transfer the sago to your chosen dessert bowl.
Serve it with mango cubes and pour coconut milk for a sweet mango sago dessert. Chill it in the fridge for a cool and refreshing simple dessert!
How To Cook Sago? Follow These 5 Basic Steps
Equipment
- Cooking pot or clay pot with cover
- Stirrer
- Bowl for rinsing
- Bowl for your chosen dessert
Ingredients
- Water
- Sago
- Dessert ingredients such as mango cubes and coconut milk
Instructions
- Boil ample water and add sago while stirring continuously.
- Cover and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Check if there are still white spots in the center. (There is usually still a small white spot in the middle of tapioca pearls after 20 minutes.)
- You will find a small white spot in the middle of tapioca pearls, no worries, turn off the heat and let it sit in the hot water for another 15 minutes. Then, rinse with cold water.
- Transfer to a bowl and prepare your dessert.
