Comments on: Saba at Sago

By: Lenlen

Lenlen — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:44:07 +0000

i love the cantaloupe juice with sago you can get from the street markets. its so refreshing!!!!!!!!!!!

By: dhayL

dhayL — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:22:49 +0000

this is one of my favourite afternoon merienda after school, very refreshing and satisfying!

By: kayenne

kayenne — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:32:45 +0000

pinky,
try the method i mentioned above. i’ve always had perfect sago. the steeping and rinsing steps are important to keep the outside from getting mushy. the steeping step allows the inside to cook, while the rinsing prevents overcooking the outer part.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 05:47:21 +0000

CecileJ, I think they are the same thing, from palm sap, but maybe the type of palm or length of cooking affects the final product? There is an interesting post on palm sugar here.

By: CecileJ

CecileJ — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 05:29:25 +0000

Are palm sugar and panocha synonymous? Parang mas masarap ang palm sugar. I tasted palm sugar in Malaysia but didn’t buy any in the grocery store there. Do you have an idea where it is available in Manila?

By: pinky

pinky — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 20:02:15 +0000

Boiling sago has always been a challenge for me. They either come out too mushy or the middle still uncooked, no matter the size of the sago pearls I use. Like Brownedgnat I also noticed that the Thai sago in the Bubble Tea are more chewy (the way I prefer it) than the ones in Filipino restaurants – why is that?

By: Brownedgnat

Brownedgnat — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:17:28 +0000

Tapioca is quite prevalent in Northern California where I live. Thereâ€™s Tapioca drink to be had anywhere thereâ€™s a concentration of Asian population. These days, tapioca can be bought at most Asian markets and can be made at home. Chinese Tapioca I buy at the market takes 8-10mns to cook. The final product is a perfect chewiness that I rarely find in Filipino restaurants that serve Sago. I think itâ€™s meant be eaten right away as I find that it hardens when it sits in the pot for a long time after cooking. The best Sago concoction I had was from a Thai vendor. The drink consists of agar-agar, palm nuts, tapioca and coconut milk with shaved ice. Of course not to be outdone is Vietnamese halo halo. On the other hand, Iâ€™m always partial to Filipino sweet drinks. I tried Saba and Sago with Latin American banana plantain and it was remarkably good. This reminds me that I need to add Digman halo halo on my list when I visit Manila next year. The original stall in Bacoor, Cavite is unbeatable.

By: kayenne

kayenne — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 13:59:15 +0000

you can freeze the remaining sago by the cup to thaw as needed. easy to thaw, boil some water, turn off heat and dump the frozen stuff in. it’s more economical to make a big batch and freeze.

no need for all day cooking. a couple of hours or so would suffice. boil some water, throw in sago and boil for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. steep for about 30 minutes or until water turns lukewarm. strain, save the cooking water. rinse sago over cool tap water, separating clumps. reboil and repeat all over until sago is thoroughly done. add more fresh water while reboiling is water gets too starchy.

if you want sweet sago, i think you can add sugar to the cooking water when the sago is, at least, half-cooked already, otherwise, it takes forever to cook.

By: Apicio

Apicio — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:19:10 +0000

At the height of the bubble tea bubble here you invariably found them next door to an internet cafe ran by young Chinese entrepeneurs. Probably just a felicitous translation of some mundane Chinese phrase for â€œsa malamigâ€ but it caught on even with the mainstream young and old alike for whom drinking meant something entirely different (usually alcohol). Anyway, it has this enduring and challenging appeal of colourful glass of cold liquid with suspended solids in it be it strands of young coconut, cantaloupe, tiny dice of agar-agar that you have to be really skilled to drink together since you are not provided with any implement to pick the solids from the glass bottom. In the case of bubble tea, the fun is provided by slithery sago shots that you can pelt your palate with by sucking through special straw.

By: elaine

elaine — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 08:01:45 +0000

WOW, the first photo(with the milk and all)REALLY LOOKED GOOD!!!!!!!