Tapioca pearls are the basis for tapioca pudding, a sweet pudding. These pearls can also be used for other foods and beverages. When you add boiling water to tapioca pearls, you are able to make a dough, which is the basis for dumplings called saku sai. In the United States, boba tea, an Asian beverage made with tapioca, has gained popularity throughout the years. This tea is also known by the names tapioca pearl drink, milk tea, boba nai cha, black pearl tea and bubble drink, among others.
Saku Sai
Step 1
Chop the onion finely. Mince the garlic and ginger, then chop the cilantro.
Step 2
Chop the peanuts to a coarse consistency in the food processor.
Step 3
Heat the vegetable oil in the skillet and add the onions. Saute them until they are golden brown. Put the garlic and ginger into the hot oil, cooking until they are fragrant -- about 45 seconds to a minute.
Step 4
Pour the crumbled tofu, peanuts and soy sauce into the vegetables, cooking until the tofu has softened. Add the cilantro and take the pan off the heat.
Step 5
Put the tapioca pearls in the bowl and add the boiling water gradually. Knead the pearls with a spoon, forming a dough. The pearls are supposed to resemble a dough. Once the water has cooled down, use your fingers to knead the dough.
Step 6
Dip your fingers into the bowl of room temperature water, pick up a tablespoon of the tapioca dough and make it into a disk shape.
Step 7
Scoop a small spoonful of the tofu mixture into the center of the tapioca disks, bring the sides up and make them into small balls. Dip your fingers into the water periodically so they don't get sticky as you work with the tapioca dough.
Step 8
Place the balls into a steamer and make sure they don't come into contact with each other. Steam them for approximately 30 minutes or until all the tapioca balls are totally transparent. If they are not transparent, they are not fully cooked.
Step 9
Coat the steamed tapioca balls with sesame oil to prevent them from sticking together.
Step 10
Make a sesame dipping sauce by adding soy sauce, water, sesame oil, peanuts, rice wine vinegar, honey and ginger to a blender and blend them until they are well-mixed.
Boba Tea
Step 1
Add the tapioca pearls to a large glass.
Step 2
Put the crushed ice, brewed tea, milk and sugar or honey into a cocktail shaker and shake them hard until the mixture becomes frothy.
Step 3
Pour the mixture into the glass with the tapioca pearls and serve.
Tips and Warnings
- Make tapioca pearls for boba tea by adding 6 to 8 cups of water to a large saucepan. Slowly bring the water to a boil and slowly add the tapioca pearls. After a minute of boiling, the pearls will begin floating. Turn the heat down to medium and cover the saucepan. Let the pearls boil for about 15 minutes, then turn the heat off. Allow the pearls to sit covered in the water for 15 minutes more, remove them from the water, rinse them in cold water and drain. A shorter cooking time for the pearls gives you chewier tapioca pearls while a longer cooking time yields less elastic pearls.
Things You'll Need
- For saku sai:
- 1 small onion
- 1 tbsp. minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup peanuts
- Food processor
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- Skillet
- Crumbled tofu
- 1 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 cup tapioca pearls
- Medium-size bowl
- 1 1/4 cups boiling water
- Small bowl with room temperature water
- Small spoon
- Steamer
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp. peanuts
- 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp. minced ginger ---- optional
- For boba tea:
- 1/2 cup cooked and chilled tapioca pearls
- 1 cup crushed ice
- 1 cup very strong orange pekoe tea, chilled
- 1 cup milk
- Sugar or honey, to taste
- Cocktail shaker
- Extra-thick straw
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