Making Sago Gula Melaka without recipe

Gula Melaka is essentially palm sugar. It is golden brown and usually comes in tube form. And it's a commonly used ingredient in Malay desserts.

I don't know who named the sugar after the famous historic town in Malaysia or why, as palm sugar has a different name in Indonesia. And in our foodie hunt through Malacca's old town area a couple of years ago, we found and tasted more chendol than Sago Gula Melaka. Nevertheless, the best sago gula melaka we've tasted so far in our memory was found in Malacca too.

While we have yet to re-create the best Sago Gula Melaka, it is still a simple to make dessert that will satisfy anyone craving for it.

Our problem is, we never stick to any recipe when we make this dessert. It's easy to find so many different versions on the internet, and we always end up with our own improvised version each time. Easier too, no need to remember proportion as there's none.

Sago Gula Melaka

about 100g sago - good for 4-6 ramekins. a few recipe say 200g, it's too much. just decide how many 'cups' you want to make, and remember that the sago expands during cooking.

coconut milk - unless you're using santan squeezed from fresh grated coconut, it is impossible to specify how much water to go with the coconut milk, as different brands of canned/packed coconut milk/cream have different consistencies. As a rough guide, mix about 1 cup coconut milk to 1 cup water, or rather, mix in the water slowly. The resulting milk shouldn't be too diluted or overly thick.

Gula Melaka or palm sugar - they are almost impossible to cut to the exact weight you want. Perhaps half a block for 4 persons? I know I'm not being helpful here.

2 pandan leaves - Asian grocery stores in Western countries amazingly sell frozen pandan leaves. I bought a pack, and been using it for so many dishes, most notably nasi lemak and chicken rice.

Sago:
Starting with sago, soak in water for 5 minutes. Cover entirely with lots of water in saucepan (you'll rather have more water than not enough, excess water will be drained away later anyway).

Cook until the sago have almost all turn translucent. Stir continuously to prevent sago from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Using a metal sieve, run sago until cold water to remove excess starch. This will keep the sago pearls separate from each other.

Pour the cooked sago into individual moulds or ramekins and refrigerate.

Gula Melaka syrup:
Tie 1-2 pandan leaves into a knot. Cut the gula into small pieces and place with pandan leaves in small saucepan. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of hot water. Over low heat, melt the sugar mixture. Srain and remove the leaves. Refrigerate.

Coconut milk:
Boil briefly the coconut milk with 1-2 pandan leaves. Strain and remove the leaves. Refrigerate.

To serve, unmould the sago. Pour the Gula Melaka syrup and coconut milk over. Rémi and I still couldn't agree on the most beautiful way to serve the dessert. Having a dessert glass certainly helps.