Sago Gula Melaka Recipe: 3 ingredient Malaysian dessert (vegan)

I’m going to level with you here. This Sago Gula Melaka recipe is one of the easiest I have ever made and so satisfying!

It’s sweet and bloody refreshing. On a plus side, it is suitable for vegans and non-vegans alike.

Sago Gula Melaka Vegan Recipe www.whatsupcourtney.com

It was Chinese New Year recently, and I have to admit, I did miss home and all the food delights we normally have during this time of year.

To satisfy my cravings, I made Sago Gula Melaka (Sago with Palm Sugar) which is a typical Malaysian dessert.

For those of you who are familiar with Bubble Tea, Sago pearls are very similar except they are tiny balls or pearls. It is a form of starch extracted from the pith of sago palm stems which are commercially produced in the shape of ‘pearls’ and very commonly used in desserts in South East Asia.

For this recipe, I used Palm Sugar from Jawa – you can find these ingredients in your local Chinese supermarket and sometimes the larger supermarkets.

Palm sugar is extracted from the sap of the flower bud of a coconut tree which then boiled until thickened and packed into bamboo tubes forming its cylindrical shape. I find the Palm sugar from Indonesia and Malaysia has richer flavour and the colour is darker than Thai palm sugar.

You will need:

200g Pandan Sago Pearl

250g Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar)

250ml Coconut Milk (shake before use)
700ml Water (For Sago pearl) + 100ml Water (For Palm Sugar)

Tip: If you use normal sago pearls with no added flavour (white one), you can add pandan leaves to the sago boiling process to add flavour.

For the sugar: Boil the gula Melaka/Jawa with approximately 100 ml of water on a low heat. You’ll see the sugar eventually dissolve and becomes like syrup. Add more water if you want it less syrupy, and less water to make the sugar thicker (alter to your preference). This is a hot mixture, so be careful handling it when moving it to a different container. Set aside to chill (When cool, put it in the fridge).

For the sago : In another saucepan, bring water (700ml) in a medium pot to boil and add in sago.

Reduce heat a bit then cook for about 10 to 15 minutes until sago pearls become translucent stirring constantly. (With the pandan green pearls, it will become lighter green). If you’re unsure, taste a bit and if it is soft then it’s good.

Strain the sago in a sieve and wash away excess starch in running cold water.

Scoop sago pearls into individual small glasses and place them in the fridge to chill (They taste much better chilled).

Pour palm sugar syrup and coconut milk over the sago and serve!

For dinner parties, I like to serve all 3 elements individually and let my guests pour it themselves. It’s all about personal preference cause some of my friends like it sweet and some prefer more milk.

I adore more sugar than coconut milk – blame my sweet tooth!

It’s refreshingly sweet, so good especially served chilled!