Mango Sago Dessert April 26, 2006
Posted by thelazychef in Desserts.66 comments
Ok. Reason for cooking while i’m still in the midst of exams? Stress. Depression.
My paper today was a total killer. Was sooo depressed after that.
Then my friend brought over 2 utterly beautiful and fragrant mangoes. His mum just got back from Vietnam and he was kind enough to remember what I had been rambling about the week before. I saw Mango Pomelo Dessert in a Hong Kong cafe we frequent and I just casually mentioned that I would like to try and make this dessert myself.
And so, he brought 2 mangoes for me today! 😉
As said, I was supposed to make Mango Pomelo Dessert, but I couldn’t find any pomelo on sale, or probably, it ain’t the season for pomelo now, so, I decided to substitute with Sago pearls instead!
This dessert is insanely easy to make. And its super yummilious. Mmm… My whole family and my study buddies love it!
Ok. I need to get back to studying. 😦
Give this a try if you like chilled desserts. You won’t regret it!
Mango Sago Dessert
(adapted from Zu’s Kitchen)
Ingredients
600gm mango (abt 2 honey mangoes)
400ml mango juice (Peelfresh or any other similar brands)
125ml evaporated milk
80g sago pearls (original uses 300gm pomelo, split into small pieces)
250ml water
2~3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cornflour/tapioca starch
1 tbsp water
extra 100ml water
Directions
1. Boil 250ml water and sugar till sugar dissolves.
2. Mix cornflour/tapioca starch with 1 tbsp water and pour into the syrup and stir over low heat until mixture is smooth.
3. Take syrup and cornflour mixture off the heat and leave it to cool.
4. Cut the sides of the mango and cube them.
5. Scrap the remaining mango and put in a bowl, add 100ml of water to blend, put aside.
6. Add blended mango, cubed mango, mango juice and evaporated milk into the syrup solution (from 1) then stir.
7. Add sago pearls and stir, if too thick, add abit of cooled boiled water or more mango juice.
8. Chill before serving.
Preparation of sago pearls
1. Soak sago pearls in water till they turned abit translucent (About an hour)
2. Boil the pearls with water till it turns totally translucent.
3. Pour the cooked pearls into a sieve and wash it with tap water remove the starch and now it’s ready to be used
(PS: I had some difficulty cooking sago the 1st time, and I found a better way of cooking sago pearls, from Eupho Cafe and English Patis.
- Boil about 3 cups of water in a saucepan. Add in sago pearls and bring to boil.
- Once it boils, cover saucepan and turn off heat. Leave for 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid, stir the mixture, turn on the heat and bring it to boil again.
- Once it boils the second time, cover again, turn off the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes. The sago should be cooked by now.
- Drain the sago from the hot water and rinse. Soak in cold water (to stop it cooking further). When completely cool drain again and set aside.
This results in a soft but still chewy texture and not mushy at all. )
Banana Nut Bread April 25, 2006
Posted by thelazychef in Bread.5 comments
No, my exams ain't over yet.
BUT, I had to get rid of over-riped bananas and ok, I admit, my hands were itchy, so I choose to bake a bread using my breadmachine(okay, its my mum's, not mine, but hey, I'm the only one who knows how to use it!). I love breadmachines cos they do all the work for you. Mix, knead, rise and bake! Easy peasy! Esp for Miss Lazy here… 😉
This was a nutty delight. Very fragrant(cos the whole house smelled like banana as it was baking). And yes, I could taste the banana! BUT, alas, the texture was more cake-like than bread.
The peeps over in the western part of the world seem to name this a bread just because its baked in a loaf pan! But seriously, its consistancy is leaning towards cake than bread. But then again, I read somewhere that they call it a bread because it has less oil/fats as compared to a cake. (So, this is just a low-fat cake in disguise!!!)
But whats in a name? It turned out beautiful and was exquisitely moist (not forgetting, low fat too!). So yes, this recipe is a keeper.
There's just one thing, this bread taste much much better from the 2nd day onwards! Seems to me like almost all banana bread/cakes tastes better from the 2nd day! The flavour seemed to have matured and developed more intensely. Mmm…
Go ahead and give this recipe a try. And yes, remember to keep some and let it rest for a day then tell me if it does taste better from the 2nd day on… =)
(PS: Yes, those stuff sticking out of the bread are toothpicks. My arty farty creative boyfriend wanted to create the look of freshly cut slices of bread still sticking to the side of the bread, but the bread kept falling and he had to resort to using toothpicks to keep them from falling! But, unfortunately, he didn't choose the right angle to snap the photo.. :(… oh well…)
Banana Nut Bread
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mashed bananas
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
1. Place all the ingredients listed in order into the bread pan.
2. Select the Quick Bread/Cake cycle. Press "Start". Check after 2 minutes if the mixture is well mixed.
3. Sit back and relax, enjoy the wonderful aroma as the bread is baking.
4. Remove the bread from the bread pan and allow it to cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes:
~ Use over-riped bananas for a better banana taste!
~ Use ang-ba jio bananas cos they are perfect for baking purposes! They tend to be more fragrant and have a more intensed flavour. If not, Del Monte Bananas work wonders too.
~ Put the walnuts into a toaster/oven and lightly toast/roast them for 3-5 minutes. This releases the oils in the nuts and enhances the flavour.
Quick Update April 18, 2006
Posted by thelazychef in Uncategorized.2 comments
Sorry I have not been bloggin'…
Its the exam period and I have absolutely no time to bake/cook. Boo.
Doesn't help that I'm suffering from baking withdrawal. Boo.
But I promise I'll be back. Real soon! My to-do list is building up! So, I'll be back with a blast! So, check back every once in a while ya?
For now, just explore ard the other food bloggies I have on my list! =) Or give some of my recipes a try!
Cheerio peeps!
If she can do it, so can you. 