In recent years, tapioca pearls have become a favorite in bubble tea, shaved ice desserts, and sweet dessert soups across Asia and in Asian communities in the West. But what if you want to cook your own tapioca pearls at home?
Some store-bought tapioca pearls can be cooked in a matter of minutes, but dried white tapioca pearls require longer cooking.
We noticed that these packaged tapioca pearls often come with few to no instructions on how to prepare them, so we thought we should publish a post specifically about how to do it. Then you can add them to milk tea to make bubble tea or whatever dessert you like!
(We’ll be coming out with some awesome desserts in the next couple weeks that do use these as well!)
What Are Tapioca Pearls?
Tapioca pearls, also called tapioca balls or boba, are small translucent spheres. Their cooked size is usually somewhere between a pea and a marble, and they’re made with tapioca starch, which comes from the cassava root.
They are also pretty flavorless, added to drinks and desserts solely for their delightfully chewy texture (they’re similar to mochi, but a little less soft and sticky).
Important Tips for Cooking Tapioca Pearls
Before we get into the recipe, here are some key tips for properly cooking dried tapioca pearls:
- Do NOT wash or rinse tapioca pearls before cooking. They must go from the package directly into boiling water.
- You must pre-boil the water before adding the tapioca. Do not add them until the water is at a rolling boil.
- The size of tapioca pearls can vary, and you may need to adjust the cooking time accordingly. For these white/clear tapioca pearls, you’ll know they are cooked once they are completely translucent, without any opaque white center. You can also taste them throughout the process to test for the right texture.
- You’ll need to use a lot of water when cooking tapioca pearls, as they are quick to absorb water and also very starchy. Not using enough water may cause them to become starchy and sticky, which we don’t want!
- Because they are so starchy, you’ll have to change the water a couple times and discard batches of starchy water.
- Note that 1 cup dried tapioca pearls yields roughly 2 1/2 cups cooked tapioca pearls.
How to Cook Tapioca Pearls: Instructions
Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a deep pot, and add the tapioca.
Bring it to a boil again, cover, and turn the heat down to medium low. Cook covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
After 15 minutes, turn off the heat, keep the pot covered, and allow to sit for another 15 minutes.
Drain the tapioca pearls and rinse under cold water.
If the tapioca pearls still have opaque white centers, repeat STEP 1 and STEP 2 until all the tapioca balls are translucent.
You may have to repeat a few times depending on their size.
In the meantime, dissolve 3 tablespoons sugar into 1 cup warm water.
Once the tapioca pearls are cooked, drain and rinse under cold water one more time.
Then put them into the sugar water to prevent them from sticking together.
The cooked tapioca pearls lose their chewiness rather quickly, so it’s best to use them within 1-2 days.
How to Cook Tapioca Pearls
Ingredients
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup large tapioca pearls (160g)
- 3 tablespoons sugar (plus 1 cup water)
Instructions
- Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a deep pot, and add the tapioca. Bring it to a boil again, cover, and turn the heat down to medium low. Cook covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat, keep the pot covered, and allow to sit for another 15 minutes.
- Drain the tapioca pearls and rinse under cold water.
- If the tapioca pearls still have opaque white centers, repeat STEP 1 and STEP 2 until all the tapioca balls are translucent. You may have to repeat a few times depending on their size.
- In the meantime, dissolve 3 tablespoons sugar into 1 cup warm water.
- Once the tapioca pearls are cooked, drain and rinse under cold water one more time. Then put them into the sugar water to prevent them from sticking together.
Awesome!
Thank you for leaving us a comment, Anin.
Hi Judy, thank you for sharing this. My auntie use to make a steamed savoury tapioca pearl cake using lup cheong, dried shrimps, shiitake mushrooms, spring onions (similar to taro cake). Unfortunately she has passed away and we never got the recipe. Do you have this recipe or heard of this sai mai cake? Thank you
No, I have not heard of sai mai cake. I am not too much into sweets :-)
Thankyou so much, this really helped me to make tapioca pearls. It was really useful.
You are so welcome!
In response to using tapioca in fruit pies, I do. I add minute tapioca in the fruit generally with fresh fruit. 2 tablespoons or slightly tapioca more to a quart of fresh fruit. Finish rest of ingredients of pie like sugar and small dabs of butter. Place in pie crust and cover with second crust and bake until fruit is bubbling and crust brown and done. It should be thicken when cool. Enjoy.
Thank you so much for sharing your cooking tip, Barb, much appreciated! :-)