“This is a popular dessert on the menu of many Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong.”
by Kit Ying Yip, from Human Resources in Hapag-Lloyd’s office in Hong Kong
From Hong Kong innovation to Asian favorite: Mango Pomelo Sago in its classic form.
Mango Pomelo Sago is a modern dessert with roots in Hong Kong’s contemporary cuisine. It typically combines mango, pomelo, sago pearls, coconut milk, and cow's milk to create a refreshing and mildly sweet dish. Popular in Hong Kong, it has also become a staple in dessert shops and restaurants across Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Guangdong, and beyond.
The dessert was reportedly created in 1984 by Wong Wing-chee, then head chef at Lei Garden, as part of the restaurant’s expansion into Singapore. Drawing on local tropical ingredients, he developed a dish that blended regional flavors into a light, fruit-forward dessert. Despite its recent invention, it makes use of sago - an ingredient that has been part of Chinese cooking for centuries.
Kit Ying’s version stays close to the original, with a simple preparation: sago is cooked until translucent, fruit is diced, and everything is chilled together with sweetened coconut milk and milk. The result is a dessert that is both adaptable and easy to prepare. Perfect for warm days or a light finish to any meal!
Dessert
Vegan
Preparation time: 60 min
Ingredients:
- 80 gm sago (sago pearls)
- 1 l boiling water
- 75 mg rock sugar
- 150 ml water
- 520 mg (2 large mangoes) mango flesh
- 1 red pomelo
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 300 ml cow's milk
Preparation:
Preparation: Put sago into a pot of 1 litre of boiling water. Bring it to boil again. Remove from the heat and keep the lid on. Let the sago cook in the residual heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Drain through a sieve. Rinse with running cold water. Drain well. Set aside.
To make the syrup: In a small saucepan, put rock sugar and water together. Bring it to a boil over medium heat and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let it cool completely. Peel the pomelo and separate the flesh. Cut the mango flesh into cubes. Use a large mixing bowl. Put in the mango and pomelo. Pour in the coconut milk as well as cow's milk. Mix in the sago and syrup. Refrigerate for 2 hours
Variations & Tips: If it’s not mango season, canned mango can be used instead. The amount of mango flesh can be adjusted to your preference. You can also blend half of it in a food processor to make a paste, then mix it into the coconut milk syrup. The amount of rock sugar can be adjusted to taste.
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