This Strawberry Sago is creamy, refreshing, and full of strawberry flavor. I added a few different ingredients that are not typical of other sago recipes: coconut jellies and strawberry jam. The coconut jellies are super fun to eat with a juicy and chewy texture, and the jam amplifies the strawberry taste.
Looking for more easy sago recipes? Try my mango sago next!
About This Recipe
If you've never made strawberry sago before, I recommend you go to your nearest grocery store and pick up a carton of strawberries ASAP. It's incredibly tasty and right up there with mango sago as one of my favorite desserts.
I've never actually seen strawberry sago sold in restaurants before, but I always see it on social media. It's one of those strawberry spin-off desserts (like strawberry tiramisu or strawberry float) that influencers love making.
Since this dessert isn't typically found in restaurants or has a long history, I felt I could play around with the recipe a bit more than usual. Some of my recipes are based on classic dishes, and for those I like to stay true to their core without deviating too much. But for this one, I added my own flair to it.
I decided to add two unique ingredients which I haven't seen in other recipes: coconut jellies and jam. The coconut jellies are inspired by my mango bango recipe. I first tried them in that, and they add such a fun texture and flavor to anything you add them to. The next ingredient I added was strawberry jam. I find strawberries aren't always enough to make a strong strawberry flavor in strawberry desserts, but the jam helps bring it out.
Key Ingredients
Dried tapioca pearls: For sago, you want to use small-sized tapioca pearls. They are about the size of mustard seeds or caviar. You can find them at most Asian grocery stores in small clear packages.
Coconut milk: Any "fatness" of coconut milk should work for this recipe. I typically prefer lighter coconut milk to be healthier, but full-fat coconut milk was all I had today so that's what I used.
Milk: A combination of coconut and regular milk is the best. It will balance the flavor more and also give the liquid base the perfect consistency (not too thick and not too thin).
Strawberry jam: This helps bring out the strawberry flavor in the liquid base.
Strawberries: Not much to say here - just make sure you wash your berries!
Condensed milk: I typically add about ¼ cup for this recipe, but sometimes I'll add more for other recipes. The jam already provides some sweetness so you don't want to add too much condensed milk.
Coconut jellies: This is also called nata de coco. You can find it in the Southeast Asian section of most Asian grocery stores.
Instructions
STEP 1: Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add the tapioca pearls. Reduce to a gentle boil and cook the tapioca pearls for 25-30 minutes until completely transparent. If they are not transparent by 25-30 minutes, you either need to cook them a bit longer, or add MORE water to the pot. I found this extremely strange phenomenon with tapioca; if there is not enough water, the tapioca will never go fully transparent. But once you add enough water, they will magically go see-through within seconds.
STEP 2: Rinse and drain the tapioca and transfer to a large bowl.
STEP 3: To a blender, add the coconut milk, regular milk, half of the strawberries, and strawberry jam. Blend until smooth, then pour into the bowl of tapioca.
STEP 4: Stir in the remaining strawberries, coconut jellies, and sweetened condensed milk. Serve immediately or refrigerate for an hour to cool down. Enjoy!
Strawberry Sago
Ingredients
- ½ cup small tapioca pearls
- 3 cups chopped strawberries
- 1 cup coconut milk (any type)
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon strawberry jam
- ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 jar coconut jellies (nata de coco)
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the tapioca pearls and reduce to a gentle boil. Cook for 25-30 minutes until fully translucent. If they still have a white center, just keep cooking for a few more minutes. Sometimes, you need to add more water if the pearls do not change to transparent.
- Rinse the tapioca under cold water, drain, and transfer to a large bowl.
- To a blender, add half the strawberries, coconut milk, regular milk, and strawberry jam. Blend until smooth, then into the bowl of tapioca.
- Stir in the remaining strawberries, sweetened condensed milk, and coconut jellies. Enjoy immediately or chill in the fridge for an hour before serving.
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