A late summer dessert: Pomelo Mango Papaya Sago Dessert (楊枝甘露)

Hello world! I'm sorry I haven't been active like I use to. I've been so busy with a night science class, busy working in the morning before class at night... babysitting my brother's high energy dog in between. But there has been a crazy late summer heat here in the Bay Area. This so call "Indian Summer" heat... I will welcome a nice cold winter with open arms.

But none the less, I made some nice summery desserts lately. I go out at night with some friends to some Asian (mainly HK or some Taiwan-based) dessert houses, and this is one of those popular desserts... 楊枝甘露. I don't know how to translate that, but it is basically a pomelo mango sago dessert. It is sweet, mango-y, touch bitter from the pomelo, milky, little creamy... real good served ice cold.

I don't remember how I picked the pomelo, basically make sure the fruit is heavy and firm... but if you can't find pomelo or you don't like the taste of it, you can substitute it with pink grapefruit. The pink will give the dish a nice little sprinkle of blush pink from the flesh, and will probably won't be so bitter. I find the taste of pomelo more bitter, but both fruits are quite similar in taste to me. I think this is where the mango comes in to help sweeten the dish. Nice ripe mangoes will do, whether it is Manila/Honey/Champagne mangoes or big ol' Common mangoes. I added papaya into this dish. I've seen it added and not added in some dessert houses. So this is optional. But I added it because papaya is good for you, and it adds a little something more to munch on. I chose Hawaiian papayas because when perfectly ripe, they are sweeter, texture is more solid but still have that papaya mushiness, and more floral in fragrance.

One thing I like about dessert recipes like this is that you can add as much or as as little of certain ingredients as you like. I pretty much used the recipe from GourmetTraveller88, but omitting the confectioner's sugar, but adding papaya cubes and adjusting the taste to my own and my family preference. Here is a quick wikihow on how to open a pomelo, cuz these suckers are hard to deal with. There is a special dish made with pomelo skin. My grandmother makes it, and it is delicious. It has a spongy texture, and best part for the diet-crazed individuals... it is said to be low in calorie and cholesterol... like seriously. Haha! Plus it is a humble from-the-village dish, the recipe isn't something you will find in any Chinese restaurant. Very homely. If I can catch her making it again, I'll try to get the recipe from her.

Sweet and refreshing, great for a summery day.

Ingredient:

1 large pomelo; skinned, sectioned, and flesh separated into chunky pieces

3 - 5 ripe mangoes, cubed (I used big super ripe Common mangoes.)

1 - 2 ripe Hawaiian papayas, cubed (optional)

½ - 1 cup sago

¾ cup water

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup crushed ice (optional)

How-To:

- Cook sago according to package. (I say look into Step 4 in GourmetTraveller88's recipe, linked above). Once done, set aside.

- In a bowl, peel, section, and "flake" pomelo (see above link on how to open a pomelo). Set aside into the refrigerator.

- In another bowl, peel and cube papaya. Set aside into refrigerator.

- In another bowl, cube mangoes. Reserve ½ - ¾ bowl for the next step. Set aside the rest (I say leave about 1-1½ mangoes worth, or the amount of how much you like mango) into the refrigerator.

- Taking the reserved mangoes, puree it in a blender. Add water and coconut milk, and mix to incorporate. Refrigerate to chill.

- When ready, in a large container or punch bowl, gently pour chilled mango mix in. Add sago, and mix to incorporate.

- From the fridge, gently add cubed papaya and mangoes, and pomelo flesh into mango-sago mix. Gently stir to mix.

- To serve, ladle into a cup or bowl.

- Add a bit of crushed ice for extra coldness to serve.

If you want to get extra fancy, break pomelo flesh chunks into little pearls for the dish/for garnishing. But that takes a lot of time and patience to turn a whole pomelo into little pearls, but it is nicer for presentation. But big chunks of fruit is more delicious to me. Of course, add some sugar syrup or melted-then-cooled rock sugar syrup for added sweetness if mangoes/fruits are not in season/at their ripest. It totally beats paying about $4-5 for a tiny bowl at the dessert houses. I hope you guys like it. 

Too much HK period-themed dramas leads to Osmanthus Jello

Hello world! I'm sorry I haven't been on and posting like I should be. I've been well... being me... being lazy... and well, also being busy. Haha.

Okay... to be honest, I've been so immersed in HK period-themed dramas since my last post, I totally dropped everything I wanted to do. Once you start a drama, its hard to stop. So in relation to dramas, I LOVE to watch period-themed dramas. I'm not from that time/era, so I'm always so captivated by how dramas depict the different dynasties with the clothing of the rich nobles and royalties, how the palace and the living quarters looks like inside... and most of all, THE FOOD. =D From the peasant class, one thing that is always present, the ever so reliable... big honkin' steaming plain baos. Traveling snacks, fried stinky tofu and more steaming baos. From the royal/noble class, grand regal dishes like roast pork, braised stuff... and my most favorite, and the main topic of today's post... elegantly made desserts. Ladies of the court in the palace all love to make this... Osmanthus Jello (桂花糕 / 桂花果凍). They all describe the dish as floral, fragrant, refreshing, and gently sweet.

I couldn't take it anymore... 20+ years of hearing about Osmanthus Jello, I finally CRACKED! I HAD to make it!!!!! I did some research online (I based some of my measurements from Noobcook and Anncoo Journal), and some info-search from my family.

Osmanthus flower IS NOT a very strongly fragrant flower. It is very light. In fact, you really have to try to up that scent. Online research all pointed to upping the sweetness and fragrant using Osmanthus Jam/Fructose. I hunted for the elusive Osmanthus Fructose/Jam for about 3 weeks by myself (online and in Asian supermarkets), until my aunt took me to San Mateo's Marina Market. One thing I learned, not all Asian markets sells things like this. Beware, some Asian markets are Vietnamese/Chinese-based, some are Taiwanese-based. To find odd products like Osmanthus Jam, go to Taiwan-based markets. According to my family, this type of jello dessert is more popular in Taiwan, and kind of in Hong Kong and possibly Canton. (Please correct me if I am wrong.) This why I say to look for Taiwan-based markets. The product is pricy, but it is a huge jar. The jam/fructose isn't too sweet... it is a hint of osmanthus flower scent. As for dried Osmanthus flowers, any Chinese herbal shops should carry it, and it is fairly cheap. I got a huge sandwich bag full for only $2, and still don't know what to do with the leftover.

I really wanted to amp up the fragrant even more by using Osmanthus green tea. I don't really recommend it, because the tea will leave a slight odd sweetness... in Chinese, it is call "甘" ("gan," translation: "sweet")... Might be from the green tea. To warn, the tea will make the jello a little cloudy. So you won't have that clear jewel effect.

I also used JUST agar agar bars for this jello. Agar gives the jello a crunch, as to gelatin gives the jello that jiggliness. My family likes the texture of agar more than gelatin, so thus I only used agar. Feel free to use gelatin, just follow the package. FYI, agar sets faster than gelatin. I learned how to use agar agar bars/strips from Brown Cookie Blog (follow steps 1 - 3).

For those who ask about my jello molds, I got my them from Daiso and Ichiban Kan.

 Why, hello little cuties~ (o^-^o) *nom nom nom*

Ingredients:

1 package Agar Agar Bars/Strips

~ 4 cups of Water

3 - 4 tbsp Osmanthus Jam/Fructose

2 - 4 bags Osmanthus Green Tea (optional)

1 - 1.5 tbsp Dried Osmanthus Flowers, rehydrated. (optional)

Sugar (rock or cane sugar is good, white is fine), additional to taste

Jello molds

tooth pick

How-To:

- (Following Brown Cookie Blog's steps 1 - 3; short-hand here->):

          - Break Agar Agar bars/strips to pieces into a pot with cold water and soak for 30 minutes.

          - Drain and Squeeze out water from agar pieces.

          - Return drained-out agar to pot and fill pot with 5- 6 cups of water.

             ***If you want to use the osmanthus green tea:

                  - heat 5 - 6 cups of water to a boil

                  - soak the teabags in the water to desired tea strength

                  - add drained-out agar pieces

           - Let agar pieces come to a boil, and cook until all agar pieces are completely dissolved.

- Add Osmanthus Jam/Fructose and rehydrated Osmanthus Flowers.

- Add additional sugar (or more Osmanthus Jam/Fructose) to taste.

- Carefully spoon or ladle agar mixture into jello molds.

- Refrigerate until set.

- To get the floating flower effect, before jello hardens, use a tooth pick to swirl and stir in a figure 8 or in random zigzags so flowers stay afloat in molds.

Done! Its not that hard. I made it on a rare hot SF day, and it was refreshing. I think I can tweak the recipe a little more for it to be more sweeter, but my family likes it not so sweet. I want to try this recipe again, but with jasmine flowers and tea. Like all the other recipes online for Osmanthus Jello, you can add some rehydrated in sugar water wolf berries so it looks prettier. Sorry it took me so long to post something... please enjoy this one. (^-^)v