House of Annie

Sago = Tapioca pearls

Sago or tapioca pearls can be found in all your Asian grocery stores and probably in some of the regular stores as well. They look like little tiny white beads. I love these things and will put them into any “soupy” Asian desserts abundantly (be careful though as they are also a thickener and too much can turn your “soup” into “pudding”). There’s another dessert that is made entirely of them and I will blog about that later.

Working it out

So anyway, we had brought back lots of stuff from the farmer’s market, right? And Nate had told you that he was working on the grilled pork tenderloin dinner with all the other ingredients. (By the way, I did not agree with his post—we had a little argument about it after it was published, yeah, our first blog fight *lol*. What I think he meant to say was that I also do look at what I have before deciding on what to cook BUT once I decide, I settle on a recipe (or adapt it) and go from there. He, on the other hand, starts chopping the stuff on hand and then continues searching for how to make use of it and what else to make with it…not very efficient…tsk…tsk…).

I love him anyway and sometimes it works out remarkably well. I just have to stay away so as not to get impatient. So while he was putting together this wonderful meal, I took a nap. I woke up feeling refreshed and came into the kitchen to work on my dessert dish. The whole meal came out really great and because pork tenderloin and grilled halibut are pretty light foods, there was room for my honeydew sago dessert which was a delightful way to end dinner and the weekend.

Honeydew Sago Recipe

Ingredients:
½ honeydew melon (save the other half for enjoying plain)
1 cup sago (tapioca pearls)
½-1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet your honeydew is)
½ cup water
1 cup coconut milk shake the can before measuring out the one cup otherwise you will have really thick coconut milk only)
½ tsp salt

Method:

Make a simple syrup: Put water and sugar into a small pot and boil till sugar dissolves to make a syrup. Cool.

Boil the sago: Put a big pot of water to boil (to hold about 7 cups or more of water). When water comes to a boil, add sago to water and cook on med-high heat. Stir occasionally. Sago is done cooking when it looks translucent, about 8-10 mins. Caution: Don’t overcook the sago as it can become a sticky mess. Better to have a few pearls that have not turned translucent than to have a glop of melting sago.

Cut and blend the melon: While sago is cooking, cut half of the half melon into chunks

and buzz in your blender till smooth.

Dice the remaining quarter of the melon into small ½ inch cubes (or if you want to be really pretty, you could use a melon baller).

Rinse the sago: As soon as sago is done, pour it out into a fine-mesh colander and rinse with cold water.

Assemble the dish: Put the melon cubes and the melon juice together in a large bowl.

Add the coconut milk.

Followed by the cooled sago.

Pour in the sugar syrup little by little, to adjust the sweetness.

Salt trick

The trick to getting your dessert to taste better is to add a little salt. Salt enhances the sweetness of any dessert!. Stir it all together and chill.

Enjoy!

Cheers, Annie

This post was entered in the “Merdeka Open House 2009: My Sweet Malaysia” roundup, hosted by Babe in the City – KL

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Hungry for more Asian desserts? Click below!

Es Teler - A Cool Indonesian Dessert

Hearts, eyes, and frog eggs

Mochi Ice Cream from Bubbies (Honolulu)

Evolution of Dessert: Sake-Poached Asian Pears with Ume and Li Hing Sauce

Cold Tofu topped with Fried Shallots and Garlic in an Oyster-Soy Sauce

1. Run a knife along the edges of the tofu tub and turn tofu over onto a plate.


2. Heat up a small frying pan. Add vegetable oil and heat on med heat.


3. Add sliced shallots and fry till light golden brown.


4. Add garlic and fry for another 30 seconds.


5. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and kicap manis. Stir around. Lower heat a little and watch that the sauce doesn’t burn.


6. Throw in most of the green onions, saving 3 Tbsp for garnish. Remove from heat.


7. Drain whatever water has come out of the tofu. Now, pour the shallot-garlic sauce over the top of the dish and garnish with remaining green onions.

Five Quick Asian Dishes Series:

And that's not all

How to get to NORCATT 2008

So, if you're in the area, and are serious about meeting with other tomato enthusiasts for a fun day of tomato tasting, email Brad at wildboarfarms@hotmail.com for directions. What to expect: sun, wind, dust, dirt and lots of tomatoes. Bring along a hat, appropriate shoes, camera and a healthy appetite for tomatoes.

Hope to see you there!

Cheers, Annie

Related tomato posts:

Happy Quail Farms Pimientos de Padron Peppers on Sale

More Capsicums for Less Cash

Cooking 'em up

Frying the Pimientos de Padron

Blistered Pimientos de Padron

Pimientos de Padron tapas plate

Gotcha!

...but then again...

Sister's Char Koay Teow on McAlister Rd. in Penang

Some tips that I have discovered along the way:

1. Use a wok—a real wok, not one of those non-stick pans. If you must use a non-stick pan, it’ll still be ok, but won’t turn out as great.


2. Use a gas stove. If you are stuck with an electric range like we are, improvise by getting a portable butane stove and cooking outside.


3. Use lard. That's right, I said it. LARD. I save pork fat trimmings in the freezer and then cube them and render them for oil when I have enough to make about a cup's worth. I have sometimes substituted the lard by frying up some bacon and using the oil from the bacon (save the bacon bits for other applications like salads, soups, or just eating out of hand)


4. Mise en place. Make sure you have all your ingredients in place before you start. Cooking Char Koay Teow is a very quick process.




Char Koay Teow ingredients: bean sprouts, lard, shrimp, garlic, Chinese sausage, preserved cabbage, and koay teow noodles







5. Use preserved cabbage for additional flavor. I think I got this idea from looking up a recipe for char koay kark which calls for it and I thought, hmm…why not for char koay teow also!


6. Make single batches. Do not attempt to make a large batch of CKT. This dish works best when cooked individually. I never make this for a big party although I have been tempted to make this into a party activity where everyone fries their own.


7. Watch your heat. If it’s too high, you can burn your dish easily. If not high enough, you won’t get that wok hei. The first attempt at cooking CKT will give you an idea of how you’re doing with the heat.

Alright, on to the recipe:

Char Koay Teow

Method

1. Heat wok on high heat. When wok is very hot, add 2 Tbsp of lard. Toss in 1 Tbsp minced garlic, stir around and throw in 1 tsp preserved cabbage.


2. Add 3-4 shrimp and stir it around till lightly pink. Toss in a small handful of Chinese sausage (about 6-7 slices or more).


3. When shrimp is almost done, push shrimp to side of wok (where it’s less hot) and toss in a handful (about a loose cup) of noodles. Add about 2 Tbsp CKT sauce and chili sauce (up to how spicy you like it) to noodles and stir it around.


4. Push noodles to side, and crack in one egg (or two). Scramble the egg a little and let it sit for half a minute untouched.





5. Add a large handful of beansprouts to noodles and stir everything together. As soon as beansprouts start to wilt a little, the dish is done and it’s time to plate up!

BONUS CHAR KOAY TEOW-MAKING TIP

Sauce for Char Koay Teow

Beauty King

Berkeley Tie Dye

Beauty King and Berkeley Tie Dye

UPDATE AUGUST 3:

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