Grass jelly with lychees, tapioca pearls, glutinous rice balls and sago dessert

1 can grass jelly, diced and cubed (from fridge)

1 can lychees, sliced in half (from fridge)

To cook sago:

50 g sago

2-3 cups water

To cook tapioca pearls:

80 g tapioca pearls

1 tablespoon sugar (cooking the tapioca pearls, add more or less depending on preference)

2 cups water

To cook the glutinous rice balls:

10-15 glutinous rice balls

Water for cooking the glutinous rice balls (enough to cover)

Winter melon syrup:

1 can winter melon drink (from fridge)

Water (to dilute winter melon drink, add as much or little depending on sweetness preference)

Open the can of grass jelly and drain the liquid. Place grass jelly on a large chopping board and slice into cubes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Open the can of lychees and drain the syrup. Slice the lychees in half and transfer into a bowl. Then set aside.

In a small sauce pan on medium to low heat, pour in water and sago. Stir the sago so it doesn’t stick. Cook sago until the pearls become completely translucent. Once sago is cooked, immediately pour sago into a sieve and run under cold water few times. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In a small sauce pan on medium to low heat, pour in water and bring water to boil. Then pour in tapioca pearls along with the sugar. Cook pearls for 5 minutes or as instructed on the package. The pearls will float to the top of the saucepan. Once pearls are cooked, immediately pour pearls into a sieve and run under cold water few times. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In a small sauce pan on medium to low heat, pour in water and bring water to boil. Place rice balls into the sauce pan. Occassionally stir the rice balls. Cook for 3 minutes or until the rice balls float to the top. Once rice balls are cooked, immediately pour into a sieve and run under cold water few times. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

To assemble the dessert, in a large bowl, place grass jelly, lychees. Then add the winter melon drink along with water. Stir well and taste the syrup to see if too sweet. Tip: Winter melon always needs to be diluted down as it is naturally overly sweet. Once to desired sweetness, add the tapioca pearls, sago and glutinous rice balls.

Give everything a good mix to incorporate all of the ingredients. Tip: if you prefer the dessert colder, add a few ice cubes or shaved into the bowl and stir. Using a ladle transfer the dessert into bowls and eat. It can also be served with fresh fruits on the side such as mangoes.