Mango Sago

Being Vietnamese, I absolutely love all kinds of tropical fruits but they are hard to find in the US. I am also partial to the extremely sweet, soft, and sticky (sss huh??) mangoes instead of the somewhat more crunchy ones that are more easily available at US grocery stores. Lucky for me, right now ataulfo mangoes are in season. The other day I bought a few and decided they were ripe and sweet enough for one of my favorite Singapore's fruit desserts: mango sago.

While living in Singapore, I first had mango sago at a dim sum restaurant called Lei Garden (they have amazing char siu pau by the way). I am a strong believer in love-at-first-bite and this was one of those situations. After that first encounter, I'd always make sure to leave room for it every time I had dim sum there. Then one time when I went back to Singapore, my friend took me to a dessert/snack place in Chinatown and I discovered that their mango sago was even better. That new place (whose name I don't know) becomes a must-visit on my list every time I go back.

This dessert is easy to make, and is wonderful for a hot summer day. I won't blame you for gulping it down on a cold winter day either, I promise!!

MANGO SAGO RECIPE
Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup dry small tapioca pearl
6oz evaporated milk
2 medium, ripe ataulfo mangoes

Chinese red pomelo (in desperation blood orange or pink grapefruit would probably make a decent substitute)

~ 11/2 cup mango juice (I used Ceres mango + pear juice)
Sugar (optional)

METHOD:

Cook the tapioca. To avoid overcooking, try this: bring water in a small sauce pan to boil, pour the pearls in, let boil for a min, turn off the heat, cover. 20 min later check to see if the pearls has become translucent. If not, bring the pot to a boil again, then turn off the heat and cover. As soon as the pearls turn translucent, rinse them with cold water to stop the cooking process. Strain and set aside.

Peel the pomelo, take care to remove all the white "skin" so it's not too bitter. Break them into small block of "cells".

Peel the mangoes, dice one of them into small 1/4in cubes, cut up the other to blend later.

In a blender, process the cut mango pieces, evaporated milk and 1 cup of mango juice until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add more mango juice. If your mangoes and mango juice are not too sweet, you might add 1 or 2 Tsp sugar here.

Transfer the mixture into a bowl, add tapioca pearls, mix together, then chill in the fridge.

Before serving, mix the pomelo in. Distribute the mixture into bowls and top with more pomelo and cute shapes made from mango slices.

Enjoy!!!!!