Strawberry Milk with Jelly and Sago

Strawberry Milk is a refreshing and satisfying all season drink, with pink jiggly strawberry jelly and soft chewy sago.

Remember to find out your cutest bottles for this beautiful strawberry jelly drink!

Sago vs Tapioca Pearls

Sago (西米) is made from sago starch, which is usually extracted from a palm called Metroxylon sagu. Tapioca Boba is made from tapioca starch, which is extracted from the roots of the cassava plant.

Both sago and tapioca pearls are popular dessert toppings. Sago is usually smaller and softer than tapioca pearls. Tapioca pearls are much chewier and bouncier than sago.

They can be interchangeable in most of the dessert or drink recipes. If you can’t find sago for this strawberry milk recipe, feel free to substitute the sago with brown sugar boba or strawberry boba.

How to cook sago?

A important tip for cooking sago is adding the sago into boiling water. If you start with cold or warm water, the sago will quickly dissolve and disappear.

After you add the sago into boiling, use a whisk to stir the water in one direction for 1 minute until the surface of the sago is mostly cooked. This step can prevent the sago from sticking to each other or to the pot.

Put the lid on and simmer the sago over medium low heat for 20 minutes until the sago turn transparent. If there’s still white dot in the center of each sago, turn off the heat and cover the lid, let the sago sit in hot water for 10 more minutes. 

⅓ cup of raw sago will expand into about 1 cup of cooked sago, which is enough for making 4 cups of drinks.

Soak cooked sago in iced water can prevent them from sticking together and make them chewier.

You can soak cooked sago in iced water, cover it with food wrap, and keep it in the fridge for up to 48 hours.

How to make strawberry jelly drink

The jiggly strawberry jelly makes the strawberry milk taste and look heavenly.

When making drinks, I like to make my strawberry jelly softer than normal fruit jello, so that I will be able to slurp it with a straw. And jelly made from the bingfenfen Chinese jelly powder is softer than gelatin or agar agar jelly.

To make drinkable jelly with bingfenfen Chinese jelly powder, we just need to add half bag of the powder (20g) to 1L boiling water or juice (>90 °C/ 194 °F).

To make the jelly colorful and flavorful, you can boil mashed strawberries, grape skins, or peach skins for 5 minutes, drain the fruits and use the boiling water/juice for making the jelly.

If you can’t find this bingfenfen Chinese jelly powder online or in your local Asian market, you can use gelatin powder or jello powder instead. You can just follow the instructions on the packages to make the jelly, or slightly reduce the amount of gelatin powder to make the jelly softer.

For example, 1 envelop of gelatin powder usually can set 1 cup of liquid into jello. But to make this strawberry jelly drinkable, I’d only use about 4/5 envelop of gelatin powder to set a cup of strawberry water.

How to make strawberry milk

The process of making strawberry milk can’t be easier. You just need to blend ⅔ cup of hulled and diced strawberries, 1 cup of milk (whole, 2%, 1% or fat free), and 2 tbsps of sweetened condensed milk until smooth.

The sweetened condensed milk can add a mild milky and creamy taste to your strawberry milk. You can also substitute it with sugar. Since the sago is not sweetened, you can make the strawberry milk a little bit sweeter than usual.

Feel free to substitute the milk with carton coconut milk if you have lactose intolerance. But do not use canned coconut milk, because its texture is too thick and heavy for making a refreshing drink.

EQUIPMENT you will need:

• Medium pot
• Potato masher (Or garlic press)
• Strainer
• Blender

INGREDIENTS List:

For making strawberry jelly

• 200 g strawberries (About 10 medium strawberries)
• 800 g water (About 1⅓ cup)
• 50 g granulated sugar (About ¼ cup)
• 20 g jelly powder (About ½ bag if you use the bingfenfen Chinese jelly powder. Follow the instructions on the packages if you use jello powder, gelatin powder, or agar agar powder.)

For cooking sago

• ⅓ cup sago
• 2 cup water

For making strawberry milk

• 100 g strawberries (About ⅔ cup hulled and diced strawberries)
• 240 g milk (About 1 cup. Can also use coconut milk.)
• 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk (Or 2 tbsps of sugar)

Step-by-step INSTRUCTIONS:

Make strawberry jelly:

1. Mash 10 medium-size strawberries with a potato masher, a garlic press, or a fork. (We don’t need to crush the strawberries into puree. It’s fine to have some chunks of strawberries in the mixture.) Add the mashed strawberries, 1⅓ cup cold water, and ¼ cup granulated sugar to a medium pot, bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium low, keep stirring with a whisk or a spoon for 5 minutes until the water turns red.

2. Place a strainer over a heat-resistant container, pour the strawberry mixture through the strainer to remove the soggy strawberries. Add the jelly powder to the strawberry water while it’s still hot, stir with a whisk until the jelly powder is fully dissolved.

3. Transfer the strawberry jelly mixture into 4 bottles or cups, with each bottle/cup half-filled. Allow them to cool to room temperature, then set them in the fridge for about 30 minutes until fully set.

Cook sago:

1. Add 2 cups of water to a medium pot, bring to a full boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium low, add ⅓ cup of sago to the pot. Stir with a whisk or a spoon for 1 minute to prevent sticking.

2. Cover the lid, simmer the sago over medium low heat for 20 minutes until they turn transparent. If there’s still white dot in the center of each sago, turn off the heat and cover the lid, let the sago sit in hot water for 10 more minutes. 

3. Add 1 cup of ice cubes and 1 cup of cold water to a large bowl. Drain the cooked sago, transfer them to the iced water. Set aside.

Make strawberry milk:

1. Add ⅔ cup hulled and diced strawberries, 1 cup of milk (or unsweetened coconut milk), and 2 tbsps of sweetened condensed milk (or granulated sugar) to a blender. Blend on high speed for 1 minute until the strawberry milk is smooth.

Assemble strawberry milk with jelly and sago:

1. Drain the sago from iced water, add to each strawberry jelly cup, fill with strawberry milk, and top with some chopped fresh strawberries.

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