Sago
Metroxylon sagu · Grain
Top 10 pairings
Sago is the starch extracted from the spongy central pith of tropical palms, chiefly the true sago palm (Metroxylon sagu) of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Naturally gluten-free and almost pure carbohydrate, it is sold as flour, damp starch and the small round "pearls" that cook up into glossy, chewy spheres — a look-alike of tapioca, from which it is nonetheless distinct.
Picking a good onedrag
Hard, white, loose and rattlingDamp, caked, smells musty
Dry and looseEveryday bestRinse, soak, then boil until no chalky dot is left in the centre. If these are cassava pearls, the washing answered the cyanide - no jar can.
Look at the pearlsMostly even, a little white dust in the bottom
Tip some into your handStill hard, a few soft clumps that break apart
Smell the open bagNothing at all, or a faint smell of the bag
What the pack tells youSealed pack, the starch named - sago or tapioca