Here is a boba recipe that captures the "QQ" texture perfectly and has a rich, sweet caramel flavor! This homemade boba is a (slightly) healthier and definitely tastier alternative for all you boba enthusiasts out there.
To make about 6 servings:
Ingredients
Boba:
~150 g tapioca flour + more for coating
100 g water
80 g brown sugar
Brown sugar syrup:
200 g brown sugar
400 g water
Instructions
1. Tapioca Dough: In a small pot, heat the water over a small flame (to avoid evaporating all the water) and dissolve the brown sugar. Bring it to a boil and stir to make sure all the sugar has melted. Still on low heat, add 1/2 of the tapioca flour and mix quickly with a spatula. Turn off the heat and add the remaining 1/2 of the tapioca flour. Continue mixing until all the flour has been incorporated into a sticky brown dough and there is no white flour to be seen. Do this quickly before the dough begins to cool down too much.
2. Rolling Out the Boba: Take the ball of dough off the heat and knead it until it's smooth. It will be a little sticky at first, so gloves are recommended. Adding a little more tapioca flour when kneading should also lessen the stickiness. Split the dough into four equal portions. Take one of the dough portions and cover the rest with a towel or wrap in plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.
Roll out the dough into a long log, about 1/4-inch thick. Using a dough scraper or knife, cut the log into 1/4-inch pieces. Roll each little square of dough in between the palms of your hands and shape them into spherical balls. Fill a bowl with 2-3 g of tapioca flour and place the finished balls into the bowl. Roll them around in the flour to prevent them from sticking. Repeat for all the dough portions. Remember to work quickly because the dough can be hard to roll out when it has cooled!!
3. Cooking the Boba: Sift out the extra flour that was coating the boba. You may also now package the boba in air-tight bags and freeze for later use. Bring a large pot of water (around 2,000 g) to a boil. Add the boba pearls and stir them continuously to prevent them from sticking. Once the boba start to float, cook them for another 15 minutes and stir every few minutes. After the boba are finished cooking, place them in a bowl of cold water where they will shrink and firm up a bit.
4. Sugar Syrup: Add the water and brown sugar in a small pot, and bring to a boil. When all the sugar has dissolved, add in the chilled boba, and turn the heat down to a slow simmer. Let the pearls braise for 20 to 30 minutes, until the liquid turns thick and syrupy and most of the water has evaporated.
5. Assembly: Tilt a glass cup and slide the boba down the sides to create tiger stripes. Add ice and any drink of your choice (milk, tea, coffe, etc.)! If you want to make your own milk tea: add milk and loose tea leaves to a pot and heat until the milk starts a slow boil. Let the tea leaves steep in the hot milk for 15 to 20 minutes, then strain out the tea leaves. Cool the milk tea and store it in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Above: Peach oolong tea, peach oolong milk tea with tiger stripes, and black milk tea with my homemade boba!
Link to my post on the history & culture of boba.
Link to my post on the chemistry & science behind boba.
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