Papuan Sago Pancake is a traditional Papuan (from Papua New Guinea) recipe for a classic pancake of heart of sago palm that's pounded to a paste and fried. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Papuan version of: Papuan Sago Pancake.
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Sago is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of Metroxylon sagu.[1] It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is called saksak, rabia and sagu. The largest supply of sago comes from Melanesia region, particularly Eastern Indonesia. Large quantities of sago are sent to Europe and North America for cooking purposes. It is traditionally cooked and eaten in various forms, such as rolled into balls, mixed with boiling water to form a glue-like paste (papeda), or as a pancake (as described here).
Sago is often produced commercially in the form of "pearls" (small rounded starch aggregates, partly gelatinized by heating). Sago pearls can be boiled with water or milk and sugar to make a sweet sago pudding. Sago pearls are similar in appearance to the pearled starches of other origin, e.g. cassava starch (tapioca) and potato starch. They may be used interchangeably in some dishes,[4] and tapioca pearls are often marketed as "sago", since they are much cheaper to produce. Compared to tapioca pearls, real sago pearls are off-white, uneven in size, brittle and cook very quickly
Traditionally, this dish was a starchy survival food of Papua New Guinea's native tribes. The traditional method was to make this from the heart of the sago palm pounded to a paste. This paste was then fried as a pancake or flatbread. Often it was flavoured with vegetables or dried fish for extra nutrition, but commonly it was also prepared plain.
Ingredients:
500g ground sago
200ml water
50g dried fish, flaked (optional)
Method:
Place the sago in a food processor and whizz to form a fine powder. Add in the water with the motor running until you have a thick but just pourable paste.
Pour into a jug and if desired, mix in the flaked dried fish (this is optional).
Grease a griddle pan and place over medium heat. Once hot pour over the sago mixture. You're looking for a large and fairly thick pancake. Cook for about 5 minutes on the first side, until bubbles appear on the surface and the base of the pancake is nicely coloured.
Using a spatula, flip the pancake over and cook on the other side.
Serve as is for a breakfast dish. This can also be cut into wedges and served as an accompaniment.
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