10/26/22, 4:19 PM Brown Sugar Boba Pearls - The Flavor Bender

BROWN SUGAR BOBA PEARLS

COURSE: BEVERAGES, BRUNCH, TEA, TEA / COFFEE BREAK
CUISINE: ASIAN, EAST ASIAN, TAIWAN

KEYWORD: BOBA PEARLS, BROWN SUGAR BOBA PEARLS, BROWN SUGAR BUBBLE TEA,
BUBBLE TEA, GLUTEN FREE
PREP TIME: 3 HOURS COOK TIME: 50 MINUTES DRYING TIME (OPTIONAL): 4 HOURS
TOTAL TIME: 3 HOURS 50 MINUTES
SERVINGS: 1 DRINKS
CALORIES: 137KCAL

AUTHOR: DINI @ THE FLAVOR BENDER

Learn how to make homemade boba pearls (tapioca pearls). Easy recipe and better than store-
bought, and makes the best brown sugar bubble tea or any kind of bubble tea!

EASY - This is an easy recipe. However, shaping the boba pearls can be time consuming.

One batch makes about 1 cup of uncooked boba pearls. Each batch is enough for 6 drinks.

INGREDIENTS
BROWN SUGAR BOBA PEARLS
(0.17 BATCH)
8.33 g dark brown sugar
0.04 cup
10 g water 0.04 cup
16.67 g tapioca starch
sifted
BLACK BOBA PEARLS (0.17
BATCH)
8.33 g dark brown sugar
0.04 cup
10 g water 0.04 cup
0.83 g dark cocoa powder
15.83 g tapioca starch
sifted
MATCHA BOBA PEARLS (OR
BUTTERFLY PEA PEARLS)
8.33 g white sugar 0.04
cup
10 g water 0.04 cup
0.83 g culinary grade
matcha powder or butterfly
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INSTRUCTIONS
MAKING BOBA PEARLS
TAPIOCA STARCH DOUGH
1. Place the brown sugar and water in a small saucepan. Heat
over medium heat, and stir to dissolve the sugar.
2. Bring the water and sugar mixture to a boil. If you want to
use food color to color the dough, add a few drops to the
water at this stage.
3. While the water is coming to a boil, mix the cocoa powder
(or matcha powder or butterfly pea powder if you're making
those versions) and tapioca starch together if you’re
making black or colored boba pearls.
4. As soon as the liquid comes to a proper boil, remove the
pan from the heat.
5. Add roughly 0.5 - 0.67 tbsp of the tapioca starch (or tapioca
starch + cocoa mix for black boba pearls), into the water.
Whisk well (but quickly), to completely dissolve the starch
in the water.
6. Return the mixture back to the stove, and heat over medium
low heat while whisking quickly and constantly. If the dough
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pea powder
15.83 g tapioca starch
sifted
BROWN SUGAR SYRUP FOR
(0.17 BATCH)
40 g water 0.17 cup
25 g dark brown sugar
0.13 cup - I like to use a
combination of dark brown
sugar and muscavado
sugar.
Substitute with white sugar
for a clear sugar syrup.
TO SERVE
Cold milk substitute with a
plant based milk to keep it
vegan
Ice
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Brown Sugar Boba Pearls - The Flavor Bender
is heating too quickly, you can momentarily remove it from
the heat to whisk the dough to temper the heat.
7. The mixture will start to thicken and form a gelatinous
mass within 2 - 3 minutes. This is your starter dough.
8. Add the rest of the tapioca starch to this, and fold it in to
mix it as well as possible.
9. Turn the dough out onto a clean, smooth work surface. It is
normal to have some dry spots of tapioca starch, and you
may have a few lumps as well. These will disappear when
you knead the dough. Scrape as much of the dough from
the saucepan as possible.
10. The dough will be hot, so be careful when handling the
dough. Knead the dough while it’s hot until you get a nice,
smooth dough, that is still soft while warm, and a little
tacky. Knead quickly, as the dough will harden as it cools
down and become hard to knead.
11. The dough will be smooth, soft, and tacky while warm.
12. Optional - Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, and set
aside until it comes to room temperature.
You can still work with the dough while it's warm as well.
13. Dust your work surface very lighty, and roll out the tapioca
dough until it’s about ¼ inch thick.
14. Cut 1 cm strips in one direction first. Then, cut 1 cm strips
in the perpendicular direction. This will create small
squares (see pictures in the post). You can also use a
cooling wire rack to create the grid pattern, to use as a
guide to cut the dough.
15. Cover the cut up squares in plastic wrap. Also, add some
tapioca starch to a bowl and set aside.
16. Start rolling the small dough squares into balls, a little at a
time (keep the rest of the squares covered in plastic wrap,
as the dough can dry out quickly if exposed). Place each
ball in the bowl with tapioca starch, and move it around to
coat the ball.
17. Repeat with all the square pieces of dough. This is the time
consuming step of the recipe.
18. If a piece of dough feels dry and doesn’t form into a
smooth ball (and develops cracks), you can dip a finger in a
little cold water and use it to moisten the piece of dough.
This will make it easier to roll it up again.
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19. When all the dough squares have been rolled into little balls
and are coated in tapioca starch, place them on a quarter
sheet pan (or half sheet pan).
20. Let them dry for 4 hours (if you want to store them for a
long time). Then, at one hour intervals, use your palm to
lightly roll the balls on the surface of the half sheet pan.
After 4 hours, the pearls should be firm, and they will
remain nice and round.
21. Store them in air-tight containers, or vacuum seal them and
freeze for later.

COOKING THE BOBA PEARLS

1. Measure out how much of the boba pearls that you will be
cooking. Each batch will make about 1 cup of pearls, which
should be enough for about 6 drinks. You can make as
much or as little of the boba pearls as you like.
2. For every cup of boba pearls you're cooking, bring at least 4
cups of water to a boil (i.e. at least 4 times the volume of
the boba pearls). I like to use about 5 - 6 cups. A covered
pot will come to a boil faster as well.
3. When the water has come to a boil, remove the lid and add
the boba pearls. Immediately start stirring to prevent the
pearls from sticking to each other.
4. After the boba pearls float to the surface, let them cook for
about 30 - 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are
mostly translucent at the edges. Remove the pot from the
heat. Cover the pot, and let the boba pearls sit for about 15
- 25 more minutes, until completely translucent or almost
translucent.

The cooking time will vary depending on how big and how
dry the tapioca pearls are.
5. The cooking liquid might be thick at this stage, and this is
natural.
6. Remove the tapioca pearls with a slotted spoon, and
transfer them into a bowl with cold water.
7. Let them sit in the cold water for a few minutes to rest. At
this point, they may also return to their original size.

MAKING THE BROWN SUGAR SYRUP

1. In a clean saucepan, add the brown sugar/s and water.
2. Cook over medium heat while stirring with a spatula to
dissolve the sugar, and then bring it to a boil.

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3. Boil the mixture until it reaches the desired thickness /

consistency.
4. Using a slotted spoon, remove the tapioca pearls from the
cold water and transfer them into the saucepan.
5. Bring the sugar syrup back to a boil. Cook the syrup a little
longer to thicken it. About 2 - 3 minutes. Cooking them
further in the syrup will also turn the boba pearls
completely translucent (if they weren't before). Then
remove the saucepan from the heat. Transfer to a glass jar.
6. The boba pearls are best used while warm (since they
harden as they cool down).

MAKING BROWN SUGAR BUBBLE TEA

1. Place 2 - 4 tbsp of boba pearls WITH the brown sugar
syrup, in a glass.
2. Using a spoon, drag the brown sugar syrup along the inside
wall of the glass to create streaks. This is optional, but
does make the drink look visually better.
3. Add a few cubes of ice, and top with milk.
4. Serve immediately with a boba straw. Stir well before
drinking.

NOTES
If the dough is crumbly, then too much tapioca was added. Just add a little water (a few drops at a
time to make it softer).

If the tapioca pearls crack when you roll them, moisten your hands with just the smallest amount
of water and roll the pearls in your palms. This will make them smooth again.

If the dough is too soft, the resulting boba pearls may not retain a good shape when you cook
them. The dough needs to have the correct texture of being firm, but not cracked.

It's important to adjust the starch / water levels in the dough to get the correct consistency. If you
boil the water at the beginning for too long, you may end up with a drier dough (with not enough
water). 

It will be easier to roll the boba pearls smoothly, IF the dough is warm as well. 

Adjust the cooking times to the size of the boba pearls, and consistency of the dough. 

NUTRITION
Calories: 137kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 1g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 33mg | Sugar: 24g |
Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg

Recipe from The Flavor Bender by Dini Kodippili

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