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Prep time
45 minutes
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Cook time
45 minutes
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Makes
4 cups
Author Notes
Boba (or bubble tea) is an Asian milk tea drink, elevated by the addition of tapioca pearls (the "bubbles"). The drink has gained a cult following in Taiwan and its surrounding countries, and also in Asian communities in the U.S. As an Asian myself, I'm a sucker for good boba, too. But tired of the queues caused by the recent boba craze, I made my own at home. And let me tell you: It was glorious.
The tapioca pearls in a typical boba are made of just three ingredients—tapioca starch, sugar, and water. It starts off as a dough, which then gets portioned and rolled into little balls. This sounds easy enough, but tapioca starch has this really sticky quality, which gives the pearls their characteristic chewiness, but it also means that a bit too much moisture in the tapioca dough will make it stick to any surface it touches, becoming nearly impossible to work with.
This is why most online recipes start off with pre-made boba pearls bought from the supermarket or your local Asian grocers, circumventing the hassle of working with tapioca starch altogether. But to me, that defeats the whole purpose of a homemade boba. So I made my own pearls, too.
After many failed attempts that left overly sticky tapioca residue all over my countertop, I found a ratio that works perfectly every time. The secret, I discovered, was to err on the side of caution and use more tapioca starch than most recipes would call for. (Working in grams instead of cups is important to get the right consistency for the dough.) This results in a much more amicable dough, which makes rolling it out into little pearls a breeze.
Helpful tools for this recipe:
- Five Two Reusable Silicone Straws
- Five Two Stackable Glassware
- Food52 x Dansk Kobenstyle Saucepan & Butter Warmer
—Jun
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Brown Sugar Boba (Bubble Tea)
Ingredients
- Milk Tea Base
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6 cups
milk
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3 tablespoons
light brown sugar
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2 tablespoons
loose black tea leaves (or 4 tea bags)
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Ice cubes
- Tapioca Pearls
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7/8 cup
(110 grams) tapioca starch, plus more for dusting
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1/4 cup
(65 milliliters) water
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1/4 cup
(45 grams) muscovado sugar or another dark brown sugar
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1 cup
water
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1/2 cup
muscovado sugar, or another dark brown sugar (for braising syrup)
Directions
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Make the Milk Tea: In a pot, combine the milk, brown sugar, and tea leaves. Heat until the milk starts to steam. Let the tea leaves steep in the hot milk for 15 to 20 minutes, then strain out the tea leaves. When the milk tea is cool enough, transfer to a jug or bottle and keep in the refrigerator until cold.
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Make the Tapioca Dough: Sift the tapioca starch and make sure no large lumps remain. Pour the water and sugar into a small pot or saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir and melt the sugar. Reduce the heat to low, then dump the tapioca starch into the pot all at once. Using a firm spatula, stir until evenly mixed and a sticky brown dough forms. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning, for 3 to 5 minutes.
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Scrape the dough out onto a clean work surface and split it into 2 or 3 roughly equal portions. This is just to make it easier to work with. The dough will be a little sticky to start with, but should get easier to handle as it cools slightly. (If it’s still super sticky, knead in a tablespoon or two of fresh tapioca starch.) Take one of the dough portions and cover the rest with a cloth or kitchen towel to prevent from drying out. Roll out the dough to a long string, roughly ¼ inch thick. Using a bench scraper, cut the string into ¼-inch pieces. Roll each piece in between the palms of your hands and shape into little spherical balls. After you roll each ball, dust in some tapioca starch to prevent sticking. Repeat with the remaining dough.
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Cook the Pearls: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the tapioca pearls and keep the water on a rolling boil for 20 minutes, until the pearls are cooked through. Stir vigorously in the beginning to prevent the pearls from sticking, but once they start to float, you only need to stir the pot once every few minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and firm up slightly.
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Braise the Pearls: In a small pot, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Add the chilled tapioca pearls, reduce the heat, and bring to a slow simmer. Let the pearls braise for 20 to 25 minutes, until the braising liquid turns thick and syrupy. Keep warm.
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To serve, tilt the glass or cup at a 45° angle and place the tapioca pearls close to the lip of the glass, letting them slide down to the base. Repeat this on all sides to get a trippy, tiger stripe-like ripple effect, then add the ice cubes and milk tea. It’s best to drink with a straw so you can get at the pearls as you drink the tea.
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