Here you are…

I mentioned in passing that day the tapioca that I cooked, bubur-cacar style…

*Archive photo*

…and I did say that it was not very nice because the tapioca was pre-boiled, with salt added and it was not sweet so even with the gravy, it was not all that great.

Well, I did cook something like that once with buah sukun (breadfruit) and sweet potatoes…

*Archive photo*

…and yes, it was very nice even though I did not have any gula Melaka (palm sugar) then.

Well, this time around, somebody asked for the recipe. What? The recipe? Gee!!! I never follow any recipe when I cook – just go ahead by trial and error, following my instincts, and if it turns out nice, then I will cook it again in the exact same way, more or less.

Anyway, since you asked here you are!

First and foremost, boil some water with some pandan leaves in it, knotted…

…and then, add the sweet potatoes…

…peeled and cut into chunks. Do not worry if you get the gum sticking to your knife and peeler and your hand – just rub with a bit of cooking oil and it will all come clean. Bring it back to boil and let it simmer till the sweet potatoes are cooked/soft.

In the meantime, I boiled some sago pearls and drained…

…and rinsed thoroughly to remove the excess starch. Never mind that they are still white – these will be added to the sweet potatoes and the cooking will continue there…and you will have those nice translucent balls eventually when everything is done. There wasn’t much left in the pantry, maybe just a handful so I just cooked it all. I don’t know why I loved these in our local desserts even though they’re virtually tasteless.

I added those pearls to the sweet potatoes and then I poured in a packet of santan (coconut milk)…

I guess many would attest to the fact that the ones freshly-squeezed would be very much nicer but no, I did not bother to do that. Anything that is hassle-free, that’s the one for me! Incidentally, we love this brand – it seems creamier than the others, more lemak (rich) and some have that unpleasant rancid smell, not this one.

I added two spoonfuls of granulated gula Melaka and once it started boiling again, I turned off the heat. You may need to add more of the sugar if you are going to serve yours with shaved ice as it may not be sweet enough when the ice has melted. I did not have that so I just let it chill in the fridge before serving it nice and cold…

You can also add yam if you wish – I am not really a fan of the tuber so I did not bother. Actually, I intended to cook the gula Melaka separately to make the syrup and add only when we wanted to sit down to eat but I got lazy in the end…

Yes, it was very nice, nicer than any that I can get outside here…and yes, I would cook it this same way again.

It’s so easy, really. Wanna try, anybody?