Hawaiian pizza is one of the most popular pizza flavours around. After all, what’s not to like about the fail-safe combination of ham and pineapples? Using the shortcut method of using pita bread as pizza crust & canned pineapples, this popular pizza delight can be whipped up in 15 minutes: 5 minutes to prepare & assemble, and 10 minutes to bake. For more information about pita pizzas, check out my detailed write-up here.

Ingredients
(makes 1 pita pizza)

- 1 pita bread
- pizza or tomato-based pasta sauce
- pineapples, diced (you can use fresh pineapples or canned)
- ham slices, diced
- shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
(for step by step photos on how to assemble this pizza, refer to this post)

1. Place a piece of pita bread  on a flat oven-safe tray.
2. Spread some pizza sauce (you can also use tomato-based pasta sauce which was what I used in this case) evenly over the pita bread using the back of your spoon.
3. Arrange pineapples and ham evenly all over the pita bread, followed by a layer of cheese, followed by more pineapples & ham over the cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven of 200C (392F) for roughly 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Serve with tobasco sauce and grated parmesan cheese if you like.

Leftover pineapples and ham? Try my hawaiian baked rice recipe.

Chunky Soup with “Puff Pastry Hat” (Cheater’s Edition)

This is how I “dress up” a can of soup to make it taste yummier and look more gourmet. With just a can of chunky soup, puff pastry and an oven, this cute looking soup bowl with a “puff pastry top hat” can be served effortlessly. As you dig into the soup, the puff pastry will sink into the soup making it delightfully soggy. It is a fun way to enjoy an otherwise boring can of soup. Because canned soup was used here, the preparation time is only about 15 minutes.

This was actually a kitchen experiment where I tried to mimic the soup with bread top that I had in my school days at Country Manna restaurant. Back then, this soup was the reason I went to Country Manna, and it was such a treat. I was so fascinated with the bread that was on top of the soup bowl back then. Recently, after I saw a recipe for chicken pot pie using puff pastry, and I realised that puff pastry is likely the “bread” on top of my soup and so I tried it out with a can of soup. I think this was a successful experiment in finding out how it was done.

Ingredients
(serves 2)
- 1 can (around 500g) of chunky soup (those type that do not need to add water, just heat up and consume)
- a small piece of frozen puff pastry*
- 1 egg, beaten
- water

Tools
- oven
- pastry brush
- oven-safe soup bowls or ramekins
- a work surface dusted with flour
- a rolling pin dusted with flour

Directions (Step by Step Photos)

1. Thaw the frozen puff pastry at room temperature for about 1/2- 1 hour

2. Dust the roller and surface you are working on with some flour. Cut a portion of the puff pastry.

3. Roll out the dough as thin as you can (about 1 mm).

4. Empty the soup into oven-safe soup bowls.

5. Cut out a piece of rolled puff pastry dough to cover the soup bowl. Secure the edges with water.

6. Using a pastry brush, brush egg all over the puff pastry so that it will have a nice sheen after baking.

7. Bake in preheated oven of 180C (356F) for roughly 10-15 minutes till the puff pastry is puffy and golden brown.

* Where to buy puff pastry in Singapore. You can purchase it at the frozen section of supermarkets. I purchase mine (Sunshine brand) at NTUC Tampines Mall. Only the bigger NTUC outlets sell this. You can also get it at other supermarkets such as Cold Storage.

Fave childhood dish – Stir-fried pork in ginger & scallions served with rice

This is one of my favourite childhood home-cooked food by mum, alongside other favourites such as fried bee hoon, cabbage rice and szechuan vegetables with pork. This dish was where I got my (in)formal training/headstart in eating chilli, for my mum would add an insane number of chilli padi into it and it was so choking hot for a child (I think most adults couldn’t handle it either), and so satisfying. So I owe this dish & my mum for introducing me to the wonderful world of spicy foods.

I suddenly missed eating this dish and I asked my mum if she could come over my place to teach me how to cook it. She told me that she just have to tell me the instructions verbally because this dish is so simple that she could “cook it with her eyes closed” (show off, mummy hehe). But true enough, her verbal instructions (even though somewhat vague and without measurements) were enough because this stir fry is truly easy. I got it right the first time which means it tasted like my mum’s version. So if you are looking for a yummy, fast and easy stir fry, this recipe is for you.

Pork tenderloin

A secret to this dish is to get the tenderloin cut for the pork. The tenderloin part is more premium (it is usually at least double the price of normal cut if not more) and from the photo above, it is recognisable by its longish cut (because it is located at the spine area). No matter how you cook it, the pork remains tender. My mum told me that women on confinement cook a version of this dish (with more ginger, more sesame oil and hard liquor) with the tenderloin cut not because the cut is more nourishing, but because they want to pamper themselves as they are recuperating from childbirth. Luckily, I don’t have to wait till I have kids to enjoy this dish because since young, my mum has always used the premium cut for the family.

Ingredients
(serves 2)
- 170 to 200g pork (tenderloin cut preferred), sliced thinly and diagonally
- few slices of ginger, some cut to big slices and some cut to thin strips
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp vegetable/olive oil
- 2 stalks spring onions (aka scallions), cut to 2-inch lengths
- 1-2 chilli padi, sliced (omit or adjust to your liking)
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Hua Diao or Shaoxing) (optional)
- 40ml water (optional)

Marinade (A)
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil

Directions
1. Marinate the pork slices in the marinade ingredients (A) for at least 5 minutes.
2. Heat oil, fry ginger for 1 minute. Then add garlic, chiilli & spring onions (the white bottom thick portion) to the wok and stir fry till fragrant.
2. Add pork slices, stir fry till cooked (I wait till all the slices are no longer pink, and 30 seconds more). Add the rest of the spring onions.
4. If you like some gravy to go with your rice, add water. Drizzle some Chinese cooking wine along the side of the wok and you’ll smell the aroma of the wine in a few seconds. Off the flame. This dish is best served with steamed rice.

Ingredients (Left to right; clockwise) – red chilli padi, scallion (leafy part), minced garlic, ginger strips, ginger slices & scallion (thick stalks)

Marinated Pork

15-minute cheater’s pizza using pita bread

Ever since I discovered making pizza the cheater’s way a year ago, my family had stopped relying on pizza delivery.  My 15 minutes short-cut pizza – using pita bread (instead of making pizza dough from scratch) and readymade sauce (such as pasta sauce) – comes to the rescue whenever I crave for pizza but have not much willpower to cook. There were times when I’m so laid back that I don’t feel like going out at all (that includes going out for meals), and I just want to relax at home doing “nothing” – meaning indulging in passive activities like watching a movie or playing console games. Lazy times warrant lazy fixes. I want something fast to prepare (5 minutes), easy to cook (10 minutes), easy to clean up (get someone else to do it hehe) and at the same time, not too shabby.

A slice of mushroom pita pizza

Even though these pita pizzas are a short cut, we find them decent and in fact, comparable if not better to the ones that we ordered via delivery (but maybe we’re just biased hehe). And this is a great way to serve a quick meal any time of the day (lunch, dinner, supper) and even for one person (I like to make a mini pita pizza if I’m home alone or suddenly hungry).

Hawaiian pizza on wholemeal pita bread (before being baked)

I’m definitely not denouncing the proper & traditional way of making fresh pizza dough and sauce – I love eating them especially at authentic Italian or Mexican joints. But since the quality of home delivery pizzas are pretty blah (to me) most of the time, I like this cheaper, yummier and easy alternative when I’m home. And I’m having lots of fun experimenting with all kinds of pizza toppings.

Vegetarian pita pizza (bell peppers & olives)

With the following basic step-by-step recipe, you can try out different pizza flavours by experimenting with ingredients on your own. If you discover any creative ideas for pizza sauce & toppings, share your recipe with me at the comments section Stay tuned for my recipes for the different pizza flavours featured on this page – they will be posted as individual recipes on the blog and the links will be compiled at the end of this post.

Ingredients

1) Pita Bread

Seafood Pita Pizza using paper thin pita bread

Seafood Pita Pizza using 1cm thick pita bread

Pita bread comes in different sizes and thickness.

Most of them can be stored in the freezer compartment for many months and you just have to thaw them before using. You can use tortilla too but that’s another post

2) Sauces (Base)

Mushrooms pita pizza using Campbell’s cream of mushroom (instead of normal pizza sauce) as a base

Besides using pizza sauce, you can also use tomato-based pasta sauce. You can also go creative by experimenting with other sauces such as bbq sauce, pesto and even cream of mushroom.

Freezing excess pasta sauce in ice cube tray

Here’s a tip for you if you can’t finish a bottle of sauce at one go – I freeze the excess sauce in an ice cube tray so that whenever I need to make a pizza, I just thaw one or two cubes in a small bowl for use. Once frozen, you can store the cubes in an air tight ziplock bag in the freezer. If you are using pizza sauce or any tomato-based pasta sauce, do note that the tomato sauce will likely stain your ice cube tray. I purchased a S$2 ice cube tray from the thrift store (Daiso) just to freeze the tomato sauces because I do not want to stain the ice cube trays that comes with my fridge.

3) Toppings

Mushroom Pita Pizza

You can use nearly anything for your pizza toppings. You can come up with a theme (such as Hawaiian, Japanese, vegetarian, spicy) and see what creations you can come up with.

Some ingredients (such as ham, pineapple & bell pepppers) do not need pre-cooking while some (such as seafood) will benefit from pre-cooking before being used as pizza topping.

Don’t forget the cheese. The most popular cheese for pizza is mozzarella cheese. You can use other types of cheese such as cheddar, parmesan and romano, or a combination. They need to be grated or shredded before use (or you can buy pre-shredded).

4) Tools

You need an oven to bake the pizza and a flat oven-safe tray (I use a cookie tray). A toaster oven might also work if the ingredients do not need pre-cooking; you just have to make sure all the cheese melts. You also need a pizza cutter to slice the pizza.

Directions (Step by step photos)

1. Place a piece of pita bread (I am using 13 cm/5 in wholemeal here) on a flat oven-safe tray (I am using a cookie tray).

2. Spread some pizza sauce (you can also use tomato-based pasta sauce which was what I used in this case) evenly over the pita bread using the back of your spoon.

3. Add toppings of your choice (I’m making Hawaiian pizza here, and hence the pineapples & ham), followed by a layer of shredded cheese (I am using mozzarella here), followed by more toppings over the cheese.

4. Bake in preheated oven of 200C (392F) for roughly 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Serve with tobasco sauce and grated parmesan cheese if you like.

List of Pita Pizza Recipes
(links will be updated when the recipes are posted)

- Hawaiian Pita Pizza
- Vegetarian Pita Pizza
- Mushroom Lover Pita Pizza
- Seafood Pita Pizza

Delicious Chinese soup on the go – seaweed soup with home made pork balls & prawns

This soup is a life saver whenever I crave for some home-made soup but don’t have a lot of time. It’s fast to whip up and yet very yummy and nutritious.  Unlike most Chinese soups which require a long time to simmer, the actual cooking time of this soup is under 10 minutes.  My version which is served with pork balls is a flexible recipe and you can add/substitute whatever ingredients you like or have in your fridge, such as assorted meat balls, sliced meat, yong tau foo and tofu. If you are cooking the soup in advance, warm it up and add the seaweed just before serving.

According to this site, dried seaweed is super nutritious – it contains a wide spectrum of nutrients hence offsetting deficiencies of an unbalanced diet, keeps hair and skin healthy looking, increases metabolism, aids detoxification, prevents osteoporosis, combats weight gain – to name a few key benefits. I love dried seaweed in my soup and can never get enough of it when it’s served outside (usually a tiny piece in a side serving of soup if you order dry noodles at a hawker stall, teochew fish porridge or in fishhead steamboat). So I thought, why not make a soup where the seaweed is the star. Then I can have as much seaweed as I like.

Cut seaweed pieces

Home made pork balls

Ingredients
(Serves 2)
- 700ml of soup stock (I use cheat method – dissolving 700ml hot water and 1 knorr ikan bilis cube)
- 10g Chinese dried seaweed 紫菜 (I use half a piece of a 20cm diameter seaweed), cut to smaller sizes
- 6 prawns (shrimps); shells, head and veins removed, tails trimmed
- 200g minced pork
- chopped spring onions (garnish)

Marinade ingredients (A)
- 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp corn starch
- 1/2 tsp Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- dash of white pepper

Directions
1. Marinade the pork with the ingredients in (A). Shape into individual meat ball (each about 1 tbsp size). Set aside.
2. Bring stock to a boil, then add pork balls, one at a time, making sure they don’t stick to one another. Cook for about 3 minutes.
3. After the pork balls are cooked, add prawns to the boiling stock until cooked (prawns cooked really fast, less than a minute).
4. Portion pork balls and prawns to individual serving bowls, and add seaweed pieces on top. Pour hot soup over. Stir the seaweed around and it should spread out nicely due to the hot broth. If you like the seaweed to be more evenly spread out in the soup, you can add the seaweed to the soup and boil for a few seconds instead. Garnish with chopped spring onions.

Cooking Notes

My pack of dried seaweed

1. Where to buy dried seaweed in Singapore. During the Chinese New Year season, dried seaweed is well-stocked in NTUC. Throughout the year, they can be purchased at Hock Hwa (Fu Hua) medical hall. I bought my packet at Hock Hwa (brand Maru Sun; see photo above) containing two pieces of seaweed for S$1.30.
2. Preparing the seaweed. It’s not necessary to wash the seaweed before using because any contact with water will dissolve it instantly. If you really want to rinse them, do it quickly & just before adding them to the soup. Try to buy a brand where the seaweed is clean. The one I get at Hock Hwa is quite clean for my standard. Cutting the seaweed to smaller sizes before adding to the soup helps to spread them out more evenly.

Colourful and delicious egg fried rice

This is a slightly more elaborate version of my basic 10-minute fried rice recipe. It’s a wonderful way for me to use up the leftover char siu (Chinese-flavored barbecued pork; 叉烧) and baby kailan (小芥兰) in my fridge. The end result is really pretty, I think both the char siu and the kailan added some really vibrant colours & taste to the humble egg fried rice. This is such an easy recipe, it can be whipped up in less than 15 minutes. An egg-cellent dinner for me, I would say

Ingredients (top to bottom):  Baby kailan, char siu and garlic

Ingredients
(serves 2)

- 2 servings (rice bowls) of cooked rice, refrigerated
- 1 large egg (or 1.5 small eggs), beaten, seasoned with 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 100g char siu (Chinese-flavored barbecued pork; 叉烧), diced
- 3-4 baby kailan, ends trimmed and leaves chopped to smaller pieces
- 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
- 5 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
- 3 shallots, chopped finely
- sea salt

Directions
1) Heat oil and fry garlic & shallots till fragrant.
2) Add cooked rice, use turner to flatten the rice balls so that they are separated.
3) Add egg evenly, use high heat to fry the rice (or else it will be soggy) till rice mixture is dry. Add char siu and baby kailan and stir fry till everything are cooked.
4) Season with salt and garnish as you like (e.g. chopped spring onions, fried shallots).

Some like it insanely hot: My home made chilli padi dip

When I name my recipes, I’m always unimaginative and factual. Call a yam rice, yam rice and a chocolate lava cake, chocolate lava cake. With the same principles in mind, I am naming this dip an “insanely hot chilli dip” because that is exactly what it is. This chilli sauce is really potent because it is primarily made up of seeds-on chilli padi (bird’s eye chili). It is so hot that it is almost mindless – even though my nose was running and my eyes were tearing from dipping my foods in it (not a pretty sight), I still persisted because it is so shiok (Singapore slang; satisfaction for eating something yummy). I love to make this easy chilli dip for steamboat, specifically for dipping shabu shabu meat slices.

Dipping shabu shabu meat slices in this spicy chilli padi sauce

Want to try it out but can’t take the heat? You can de-seed the chilli (wear disposable plastic gloves to prevent chilli burn) and it will be manageable. I did that once and my guests do not find this chilli dip spicy at all. But if you leave the seeds on, and increase the number of chilli padi used, I dare say this dip is not for the faint hearted. You can adjust the heat of the dip by adjusting the number of chilli padi used (the more the hotter), and so I think the heat meter has no limit. My fiery threshold is 10-12 chilli padi (with a box of tissue next to me), what is yours?

Good news for chilli lovers – chilli is said to contain high levels of Vitamin C and can boost metabolism rate.

Ingredients

- 10 chilli padi (bird’s eyes chilli), sliced (adjust according to how hot you like)
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- juice of 2-3 limes
- 1 tsp sesame oil

Directions
1. Using a food blender, pulse chilli padi and garlic cloves together for a few seconds. Scrap out the contents using a spoon to a small bowl.
2. Add light soy sauce, sesame oil and lime juice to taste.

Minimalist Roast Chicken Meal (served with cranberry sauce)

I always thought that it must be really difficult to roast a whole chicken. After I read recipes and eventually tried roasting a whole bird myself, I realised that on the contrary of being difficult, roasting chicken must be one of the easiest foods to cook because 1) you just have to throw the bird into the oven, it does not require advance cooking skills like achieving wok hei in a stir fry, 2) simple ingredients of salt, pepper and olive oil will draw out the aroma of the chicken, 3) just throw in some vegetables to roast with the chicken, and you’ll have a complete meal with minimal effort. 4) you don’t really need a recipe as the ingredients are flexible. This is a good meal to impress your folks because it looks more difficult than it actually is to prepare

I named this the “minimalist roast chicken” because with the most basic ingredients of olive oil (or melted butter), salt, pepper, a few herbs of choice (you can even omit them), and of course a whole chicken, you can prepare a roast chicken effortlessly. The oven will be doing most of the work for you. And once you get the hang of roasting a chicken the minimalist way, you will hardly need a recipe in future because you will realise that everything just comes together naturally (like how much oil, salt and pepper you need). And from the minimalist chicken, you can start to experiment with different flavours for the chicken, such as roast chicken with glutinuous rice stuffing, or basting with hoisin sauce and honey. I love the minimalist style because it retains the original flavours of the chicken.

Best ever chicken stock made from roasted chicken bones

Another great reason for roasting chicken – chicken stock made from roasted chicken bones is much more delicious than chicken stock made with plain bones. So when you have it, don’t waste it! Check out my tutorial for making the best-ever chicken stock from roasted chicken bones and juices.

The pictures are of the roasted chicken meal I made for Christmas last year. I always roast chicken for Christmas instead of turkey because my oven is too small to fit a turkey and I find chicken more juicy and tender than turkey. With the big chicken I roasted, my friend who saw the photo thought it was a turkey. Buying a large chicken is definitely much cheaper than a turkey over the festive season.

Ingredients
(makes a whole chicken)
- 1 whole chicken , neck and feet removed, cavity emptied (I ask the butcher to do it for me)
- 1/4 cup olive oil (you can substitute with melted butter)
- sea salt & freshly cracked pepper

Optional but good to add:
- herbs of choice (I like to add a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary and about 2 bay leafs)
- garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 celery, chopped

Tools needed:
- oven-safe roasting tray
- pastry brush
- kitchen twine/string (optional)

Directions for roast chicken
1. Wash chicken and pat dry. Lay chicken on a oven-safe roasting tray. Stuff cavity with garlic, lemon, celery and assorted herbs, leaving some to scatter around the tray in step 3.
2. Using a pastry brush, glaze chicken with olive oil. Then rub generous amounts of sea salt all over the chicken, and crack generous amounts of black pepper all over the chicken.
3. If you like to truss the chicken (it looks better but it’s optional), tie the two drumsticks together with kitchen twine. If you are using herbs, sprinkle some of them over the chicken.
4. Roast at 220C (430F) for half hour, take out the tray and baste the chicken skin with its juices using a pastry brush. Return the bird to the oven, roast at 200C (390F) for another 20 minutes to 30 minutes till chicken is cooked (basting once more in between). The roasting time will depend on the size of your chicken. You can also roast at 220C all the way but I turn it down to 200C midway because it seems too hot to roast at 220C all the way inside my little oven.

Note:
- If your oven is the small or the stand-alone type (versus the built in type), you will probably need to turn the roasting tray to the other side halfway through the roasting time to ensure more even cooking (depending on where the heat coils of the oven are located).
- If you insert a fork in the thigh area and clear juices run out (no blood), that is a good gauge that your chicken is cooked.

Directions for roasting vegetables
If you like to roast vegetables together with your chicken which you really should, just cut vegetables to chunks (use roast-friendly ‘hard’ vegetables such as potatoes and carrots), coat with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and spread the vegetables as a thin layer on the roasting tray. Then prop the chicken on top of the vegetables. The good thing about roasting vegetables with your chicken is that the aroma of the vegetables will enhance the taste of the chicken, and vice versa. If you are using “softer” vegetables such as corn, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli and zucchini, you can wrap them in aluminium foil so that the vegetables cook slowly – it is kind of like “steaming” your vegetables while the rest of the foods are roasting in the oven (tip I learnt from wandering chopsticks).

“Yammy-licious” Yam Rice

I had lots of leftover yam from making yu sheng so I thought of cooking yam rice with the leftovers. My first attempt turned out really well surprisingly, not only did the yam rice looked appetizing, it also tasted … “yammy” (can’t resist the pun). It was so good that I didn’t mind reheating the remaining yam rice the next day as it was too good to waste. Yam rice is really filling and you can eat it on its own as a one-dish meal, or pair it with Chinese soups such as bak kut teh and salted vegetables soup.

Updated (24 Feb 2010): In the US & Canada, there is no distinction between yam and sweet potato. Hence to avoid confusion, the yam that is used in this recipe is also the vegetable known as taro. In Singapore (and in this recipe), yam refers to the vegetable with black skin and some porous roots sticking out from the skin, and the flesh is white/purple (see photo below). Sweet potato, on the other hand, refers to the one with orange flesh. Thanks to HoppingHammy who pointed it out to me

If you like different flavours of yam rice, also check out Rasa Malaysia’s yam rice which has minced meat & shiitake mushrooms.

Ingredient: Yam Cubes

Ingredients
(serves 3-4)

- (200g) 1 cup uncooked long grain rice, washed and water rinsed
- water to cook rice
- 200g yam (taro), skin removed and cubed (wear disposable plastic gloves when handling yam)
- 2 tbsp dried shrimps (hei bi), soaked in water for 15 minutes, drain the water and chop finely
- 100g char siew or roasted meat, cut to small pieces
- dash of ground white pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

Seasonings
- 3/4 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil

Directions
1. Heat a wok. Stir fry yam cubes on high heat for roughly 5 minutes till just about cooked. Set aside.
2. Using the remaining oil in the wok, stir fry dried shrimps on medium low heat till fragrant (about 2-3 minutes).
3. Return the cooked yam to the wok. Add rice, roasted meat and ground white pepper. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes till all the ingredients are well mixed.
4. Wait for the rice mixture to cool, then transfer to a rice cooker. Add water to cook rice (adjust according to your preference/rice cooker; I used roughly 1 3/4 cup water), followed by seasonings. Stir to make sure that the seasonings are well mixed.
5. Cook rice in rice cooker. If not using rice cooker, boil the rice mixture for roughly 20 minutes, or till the water has evaporated and the rice is moist and puffy.

Ingredient: Assorted leftover roasted meat (cut to smaller pieces)

Ingredient: Dried shrimps (hei bi), finely chopped

Stir frying all the ingredients (Step 3)

This is possibly my favourite Chinese dessert. Maybe it’s because mango is also my favourite fruit.  Though I am not really into sweet foods most of the time, an exception can be said for Chinese desserts like this one. When I am having a meal at a Chinese restaurant, I’ll check out the menu if they serve this dessert and if they do, I’ll reserve some space in my tummy for it at the end of the meal. It usually cost around S$5 for a small bowl at a mid-range Chinese cafe/restaurant, and sometimes it comes with measly portions of pomelo, or occassionally to my horror, no pomelo at all. So not only is it cheap to make a huge party bowl at home, you can ensured of second helpings and generous toppings of cubed mango and pomelo.

Ingredients
(Serves 4)
Adapted from didally & Zu’s Kitchen

- 400ml mango juice (freshly squeezed using fruit juice extractor or ready made; I use Marigold PeelFresh)
- 150ml evaporated milk
- 2 large ripe honey mangoes, cubed (see photo below)
- sugar syrup by mixing 2 tbsp caster sugar with just enough hot water to dissolve
- 80g pearl sago, soak in water for 20 minutes till white and enlarged, then rinsed
- Pomelo (I use the Ipoh Tambun variety), peeled and sacs separated, about 50g or more

Short-cut way of cutting the mangoes into small cubes

Tools
- Blender

Directions
1) Boil a pot of water, add sago and boil for a short while till the sago is transparent. Run the cooked sago through a fine sieve and running water to remove excess starch. Set aside.
2) Reserve one quarter of the cubed mangoes for garnishing (step 4). In a blender, blend the rest of the mangoes and the evaporated milk for a short while till well mixed.
3) Mix mango smoothie prepared in step 2 with mango juice. Add sugar syrup to taste. Add cooked pearl sago prepared in step 1 to the mixture. Chill in fridge.
4) To serve, portion out to individual serving bowls and garnish with pomelo sacs and cubed mangoes.