Bubble tea, tapioca pudding and other sweet desserts with tapioca pearls have become increasingly popular in recent years throughout Asia, among the Asian population in the West and also among many other nationalities on all continents. But what do you do if you want to cook tapioca pearls? Is preparing it at home an easy task?
The cooking time for dried white tapioca balls is significantly longer than that for purchased tapioca pearls that are already hydrated. Since we noticed that many packages of tapioca pearls provide few instructions for preparation, we thought we would write an article explaining the entire process from start to finish. You can then use the tapioca pearls to prepare bubble tea or other sweet treats.
Tapioca pearls, also known as boba or tapioca balls, are tiny, clear balls. They are made from the starch of cassava root (tapioca) and are about the size of a cooked pea or marble. They lenddrinks and sweetshave a wonderfully chewy texture, but have hardly any taste themselves.
Depending on the dyes and pigments used, tapioca balls can come in a wide variety of colors. Black or dark brown tapioca pearls as well as gold tapioca pearls can be made with brown sugar or Asian black sugar. Colorful tapioca pearls can be made with other food colors such as strawberry, mango, passion fruit and dragon fruit.
- Black tapioca pearls are normal tapioca pearls that have a dark color. These tapioca pearls and the white ones are the most commonly available.
- The brown sugar gives the tapioca pearls a deeper brown tone. It is made from purely natural materials.
- Brown sugar is also used to make golden tapioca pearls, but in a different ratio. To get the golden hue, the brown sugar is reduced.
Cooking tapioca pearls: Is tapioca healthy?
Due to its high starch content, tapioca consists almost entirely of carbohydrates. Protein, fat and fiber are also present, although in extremely low concentrations. It also contains traces of several other nutrients.
Tapioca is not as healthy as other grains and flours because it contains less protein and other elements. It can be considered an “empty” calorie because it provides energy but very few essential elements. tapioca isgood for your health. It doesn't have many nutritional benefits, but is gluten and grain free. In other words, it's diet-friendly. Tapioca can be a good alternative to products made from wheat or corn as it is naturally grain and gluten free. It can be used as a flour substitute or as a thickener in a variety of dishes. However, to increase the nutritional value, you can mix them with other flours such as almond or coconut flour.
Prepare tapioca pearls yourself
First some important onesInstructions for preparationof dried tapioca pearls.
- Tapioca pearls should not be washed or rinsed before use. They need to be thrown into boiling water straight from the package.
- The water needs to be brought to a boil before adding the tapioca. Add the tapioca once the water has completely boiled.
- Depending on the size of the balls, the cooking time may need to be adjusted. When the white or translucent tapioca pearls are completely transparent and no longer have an opaque white core, they are cooked. You can check the correct consistency by tasting it at different stages.
- Due to the high starch content and fast absorption rate, the balls require a lot of water when cooking. We don't want them to become too starchy and sticky from not enough water.
- Due to their high starch content, several water changes are required, and any starchy water that has already been used is thrown away.
Remember that you can make 2 1/2 cups of cooked balls from 1 cup of dry tapioca pearls. Please note that you cannot try this recipe for the quick-cooking tapioca pearls.
Ingredients
- 1.5 liters of water
- 160 g large tapioca pearls
- 3 tablespoons sugar (plus 250 ml water)
preparation
- Bring 1.5 liters of water to the boil in a large pot and add the tapioca balls. Bring the water to a boil again, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Cook the balls, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. After 15 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and let the balls rest, covered, for another 15 minutes.
- Drain the tapioca pearls and let them cool quickly in cold water.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 until all the beads are transparent or until the white cores of the beads are completely dissolved. Depending on the size of the tapioca pearls, this may take a few tries.
- Meanwhile, dissolve 3 teaspoons of sugar in 250 ml of warm water.
- Once the balls are finished cooking, they should be drained and rinsed in cold water, as previously mentioned. To prevent them from clumping, dip them in sugar water afterwards.
Note: Cooked tapioca pearls quickly lose their bite, so they should be consumed within two to three days.
