Sago Pudding with Coconut Milk (Sago Gula Melaka)

This coconut sago pudding is a super addictive dessert and is one of my favorite recipes. It's a very famous dessert in Malaysia and is made with just 3 ingredients - sago pearls (tapioca pearls), coconut milk and palm sugar (gula Melaka). Not only are the ingredients simple, making this awesome coconut and sago dessert is also super quick. You can get a bowl of this super yummy sago pudding in under 45 minutes!

This sago pudding can be served at room temperature but tastes even better when chilled.

The pudding is typically served in small dessert bowls, with the main ingredient, sago in the center and the milk and sugar syrup poured onto it. When served, you literally see a sago island in a sea of coconut milk and palm syrup.

To eat it, you either mix all the ingredients together or you simply scoop the sago along with some milk and palm syrup and enjoy it that way! Either way, the coconut milk, and syrup add just the right texture of creaminess and sweetness to the plain sago pudding, making this a super yummy sago dessert.

How to Make

Ingredients

• Sago Pearls a.k.a sagu pearls (Tapioca Pearls)
• Palm Sugar
• Coconut milk
• Salt
• Water

Cooking the sago (cooking method)

1. Measure the sago into a large bowl.
2. Rinse it lightly and place it in a medium saucepan or pot.
3. Add water.
4. Add salt into the pot of water and sago and cook the sago over low heat. Stir the mixture constantly to avoid it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

1. Cook the sago for about 20 to 30 minutes. It took me almost 25 minutes, but the cooking time can vary depending on the heat you are using. To check if the sago is ready, scoop some into a spoon. If you still tiny white dots in it, the sago is still not ready.
2. Continue cooking until it turns absolutely translucent.
3. Transfer the sago into a large strainer. Run it under cold water until all the starch solution is washed off, leaving just the sago pearls. At this stage, you should be able to see the loose pearls and they should not be sticking to one another.
4. Leave the sago in the strainer for a couple of minutes to let the water drain out.
5. Scoop the sago into prepared dessert cups. Flatten the top with the back of a spoon.
6. Chill until ready to serve.

Making the syrup

1. The palm sugar is often sold in blocks.
2. For easy dissolving, cut it into small pieces. Cutting is not easy, as the block can be hard. You can use a knife to grate it. Put the sugar into a small pot and add water.
3. Place the pot over medium-low heat until the palm sugar is all dissolved.
4. Once dissolved, remove from heat and strain to remove any residue. There is no need to wait until the syrup reaches a rolling boil. Let the palm sugar syrup cool down before using.

Serving the sweet pudding

• Keep the sago chilled until ready to serve.
• Pour about 1 tablespoon of syrup onto the sago, followed by 1 tablespoon of coconut milk right before serving and serve the pudding. Add more syrup for extra sweetness.

• You can serve the pudding in any small glasses, cups or bowls you like. I used mini dessert cups.

Notes

Difference between coconut milk, coconut cream and coconut water

• Coconut milk is the white liquid derived by blending and squeezing the white meat of a coconut.
• Coconut cream is the thicker version of coconut milk and is often sold in cans. Unlike coconut milk, the coconut cream is of a scoopable consistency. It is not suitable for this sago pudding recipe as it is too thick.
• Coconut water is the clear liquid that is present inside the fruit.
• For this sago pudding recipe, you need to use coconut milk. This can be purchased in cans or cartons, similar to coconut cream.
• But if you want to make your own coconut milk, place the coconut flesh into a food processer and add some water to it. Blend and then squeeze it in a muslin cloth to derive the milk.
• If you are going to make your own coconut milk, remember that the more water you use, the more diluted the milk will be. For this recipe, you would need thick milk, so do keep a note of the amount of water you add.

Sago pearls vs tapioca pearls (boba pearls)

• Sago pearls and tapioca pearls are not the same.
• Sago pearls are made from the sago palms (sago palm trees) and are widely used in Asian desserts in the Southeast Asia region. They vary in sizes and this sago pudding is best made with the small sago pearls. You can find sago in Asian grocery stores.
• Tapioca pearls, on the other hand, are made from the tapioca starch, a root vegetable (also called cassava). These are often used in milk tea drinks. Tapioca pearls can come in small sizes like sago but these small tapioca pearls are not suitable for this sago pudding. In some parts of the world, tapioca pearls are also called sago.

How to cook the sago?

• Cook the sago with water over low heat until translucent. If the mixture gets too thick, add some hot water and continue to cook until the sago is all cooked.
• Also, you would need to continuously stir the sago as they cook. This is because they have a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan and this can cause them to burn.
• For extra flavoring, you can add knotted pandan leaves into the mixture when cooking. Discard the leaves once the sago is cooked.

How to know if the sago is cooked?

• The best way to know if the sago pearls are done thoroughly is by making sure there are no white dots in the pot. When thoroughly cooked, the sago pearls will be totally translucent. When not fully cooked, you will set a tiny white dot in the center of the pearls.
• There will be a lot of starch in the pot as you cook the sago, so you will not really be able to see the pearls individually. That is perfectly fine, all you need to do is make sure there are not white dots in it. If there are, continue on the heat until the mixture turns completely translucent.

Why aren't the sago pearls visible as I cook them?

• There is a lot of starch in the pot (the water turns starchy from the starch in the sago), as you cook the sago, so at some point, you will not really be able to see the cooked pearls. Instead, it will just appear like a gooey solution in the pot. This is perfectly normal.
• Once cooked, transfer the hot sago mixture into a strainer and literally wash them in running water for a couple of minutes until all the excess gooey starch is washed away. Use a spoon to mix the pearls as you wash them. You will begin to see the sago pearls lose and not stick to one another once the starch is all washed away.

Can you shape the sago?

• Yes, you can. You can shape the sago for the pudding by putting them into molds. You cannot use intricately shaped molds but can use something like cupcake tins or even scoop into large ice cube molds.
• But you would need to do this immediately after washing the starch from the cooked sago. The sago tends to set into the shape of the container they are placed in after cooking, so if you leave them too long in the strainer, you will end up with lumpy sago clusters when you transfer them to the mold.
• If this happens, simply run water through the pearls again to break them up and spoon them into the molds as soon as the water is all drained.
• Let the sago set for a few hours, and then remove them from the mold (with a spoon or simply by tapping the sago out onto a plate). Place them into your dessert cups and chill until ready to serve.

How to serve?

• The sago pudding can be put into molds, and once set, removed and put into dessert cups. Or you can put them directly into the dessert cups and serve them directly in them with some syrup and coconut milk poured over.
• For additional flavoring, you can serve the sago pudding with mango as mango pudding. Cut some fresh mango into cubes and add to the sago. Pour some condensed milk on top instead of the palm sugar syrup. Serve chilled.

How long will the pudding last?

• This sago pudding can be consumed immediately after it is made. It can also be served chilled by letting it chill in the refrigerator overnight. The pudding is best served within 2 days (keep the sago covered in a container to prevent it from drying out in the refrigerator).
• The syrup and milk are best poured onto the sago pudding right before serving. Coconut milk does not last well, so once mixed with milk, the sago pudding is best consumed on the same day.

Can you substitute the palm sugar (gula melaka)?

• Yes, you can. You can make a simple brown sugar syrup by diluting the same amount of brown sugar with water until it forms a syrupy solution. While the sago pudding will still taste as good, it will not be the same as using palm sugar.

How to make the palm sugar syrup?

• Making the syrup is easy. Simply chop the palm sugar, place it in a pot with water and cook over low heat until the sugar is all dissolved. The syrup is effectively ready as soon as it's all dissolved.
• Overcooking the syrup can result in it becoming too thick and harden. Hence, suffice if you heat it just until the sugar is dissolved. This is because the water I have indicated in the recipe is very little, and if you follow this, your syrup will be in the right consistency as soon as it is all dissolved.

Can the palm sugar syrup be made in advance?

• Yes, it certainly can. The palm sugar syrup can last for at least one week when stored in the refrigerator.

Like this easy pudding recipe? Here are my other posts you might want to check out

• Coconut Loaf Cake with Lemon Glaze Topping
• Flower Pot Cake - A Decorating Tutorial
• Food Cake Decorating Ideas
• Glaze Icing Recipe
• Coconut Jelly with Palm Sugar (Coconut Milk Agar Agar)
• Gula Melaka Syrup (Palm Sugar Syrup) - How to Make
• Pandan Cookies with Coconut and Gula Melaka - An Easy Recipe
• Coconut Rolls with Coconut Glaze
• Pandan Cheesecake - Perfectly Baked & The Creamiest Ever!

Recipe (Printable)

Here's the full printable version of my sago pudding recipe with coconut milk and palm sugar.

And that's that. My super yummy sago pudding with coconut milk and palm sugar syrup.

Enjoy! 🙂