Chilled Mango Puree with Sago & Pomelo 杨枝甘露 - Chinese New Year Series

It's 4 days to Chinese New Year! I'm so gonna take a little break from all the cookie baking and making lol. Thinking of something light and easy to slip in between, this Chilled Mango Puree with Sago & Pomelo 杨枝甘露 instantly crossed my mind. With a name so auspicious in accordance with the Chinese New Year theme, I think it makes all sense to be featuring it as a part of the Chinese New Year series. This is a dessert so popular in Hong Kong it's simply hard to miss. Needless to say I had my first taste of it there a couple of years back and again the year after. This dessert has since became THE DESSERT in between hubby and I. A love token between us, as how he would call it lol.

With so much time already spent on spring cleaning, baking, shopping, decorating, cooking and preparing for the Lunar New Year, this dessert comes with a plus that you and I and everyone else will appreciate. You and I - because needing minimal preparation, this dessert can be prepared in advance, easily assembled and served in a snap! And as for everyone else - we know how dessert can hardly go wrong with mangoes. Light and refreshing, rich, creamy and cold, sweet with a light hint of tartness not forgetting its prominent golden hue, this makes a good dessert to a perfect Chinese New Year meal. It will be a hit!

Oh, and talking about love, it's Valentine's Day just four nights of sleep from Day 1 of Chinese New Year! If you are not so into Chinese New Year, maybe this is what you can consider for the Valentine's Day instead! Or forget about having to have a reason to make this at all. It makes an all-time perfect dessert on any given day! At least it is to me lol. The credit goes to Noob Cook who in turn had adapted the recipe from Zurynee at Quick 'n' Easy Treats from Zu's Kitchen. Personally preferring a version a little less sweeter and a little more sour, I'm more than contented with the dessert not having any additional simple syrup added in. But if you are one with a strong sweet tooth, by all means have it a little further sweetened as per the original recipe and it's good to go!

Chilled Mango Puree with Sago & Pomelo 杨枝甘露
Adapted from Noob Cook 
Serves 4

*400ml mango juice
147ml low fat evaporated milk (the recipe called for 150ml, but a small can of the Carnation evaporated milk comes in 5oz (~147ml), so 147ml it is!)
2 large ripe mangoes, peeled and cubed
2 tbsps sago pearls
1 cup of pomelo pulps obtained from 1 small pomelo (peeled, sacs loosened and the pulps separated)
simple syrup (made by dissolving 2 tbsps sugar in just enough hot water), optional

* I used the Amazing Mango smoothie by Bolthouse Farm. Not 100% mangoes (it has got banana, oranges and apples in it too), but the taste of the mangoes totally dominates. So worry not about losing the mangoes anywhere. It will be good! Yummmm I promise! lol.

1. To cook the sago, bring a pot of water to a rapid boil. Add in the sago and let boil for 10 minutes. Put on the cover, turn off the heat and leave the sago undisturbed for another 10 minutes. At the end of it, stir the sago for about a minute as the final bits of the sago turn translucent. Strain the sago through a sieve and run the sieve through the cold running water. Drain and set aside.
2. Reserving a quarter of the cubed mangoes, transfer the remaining mangoes into a blender. Add in the mango juice and blend on high for a minute. Reserve the mango puree in a large bowl.
3. Stir in the evaporated milk until they are well incorporated into the mango puree.
4. Add in the sago next. Stir until well combined. If you are adding in the simple syrup, add it in gradually to taste and stir to mix well. Keep this mango puree with sago chilled until serving time.
5. When ready to serve, divide the mango puree into individual servings. Top generously with the cubed mangoes and the pomelo pulps.

DO AHEAD: Make the puree, peel the pomelo pulps and cube the mangoes earlier in the day. Keep them in separate containers and have them chilled right until serving time. I personally won't recommend preparing them any earlier than that honestly. Sadly the vibrant color these mangoes have does tarnish a little with time. We wouldn't want put the dessert elegance at risk, would we? lol.