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Prep time
10 minutes
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Cook time
20 minutes
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Serves
2
Author Notes
Throughout Asia, taro is a popular ingredient used in savory cooking, but it’s also featured in many Asian desserts. Growing up in Hong Kong, I saw taro frequently on dessert menus: in baked taro pudding, taro and sago soup, taro frozen yogurt, and, my personal favorite, taro bubble tea. The best bubble tea shops in Hong Kong make their taro bubble tea with fresh taro paste and add tender cubes of the cooked tuber to the bottom of the beverage. In North America, taro can be challenging to locate if you don’t live near an Asian or Hispanic grocery store. Most bubble tea shops I’ve been to make their taro bubble tea with taro powder, which is available to purchase online. Although taro and ube are not the same, including a touch of ube extract helps to add vanilla notes, brings out the earthiness of the taro, and also gives the beverage a vibrant purple hue.
I used PG Tips here, but you can use any black tea you like. I use 1 tea bag per 250 milliliters water, and steep it in boiling water for 4 minutes.
The tapioca pearls should be made and enjoyed fresh, as they do not keep well. The tapioca pearls should be kept in the simple syrup at all times, and if the pearls begin to harden, 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave should help bring them back to life. Hope you enjoy making taro bubble tea at home as much as I did. —Genevieve Yam
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Taro Bubble Tea
Ingredients
- Boba & Simple Syrup:
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1 cup
(168 grams) black tapioca pearls (not quick-cooking)
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2 cups
(400 grams) sugar
- Taro Milk Tea:
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1 cup
(250 milliliters) black tea
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1 cup
ice
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3/4 cup
half-and-half
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3 tablespoons
taro powder
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1/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
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1/4 teaspoon
ube extract
Directions
- Boba & Simple Syrup:
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Prepare the boba: Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, add the tapioca pearls. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until chewy and cooked through. Depending on your tapioca pearls, this could take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes—check your package for instructions.
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Meanwhile, make the simple syrup: In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk the sugar and 1⅔ cups (396 milliliters) water and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the simple syrup for the taro milk tea; pour the remaining simple syrup into a medium bowl.
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Strain the tapioca through a fine-mesh strainer and give it a light rinse to remove any excess starch. Transfer the tapioca to the bowl with the remaining simple syrup and stir to combine.
- Taro Milk Tea:
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In a high-powered blender, blitz the tea, ice, half-and-half, 3 tablespoons of the simple syrup, the taro powder, salt, and ube extract on medium-high speed until well combined.
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Using a slotted spoon, divide the tapioca pearls between 2 glasses. Top with the taro milk tea.
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