How to Make Homemade Boba (Tapioca Pearls)
Want to learn how to make homemade boba from scratch? Now you can! These warm, chewy, boba pearls coated with delicious deep brown caramelized sugar will light up your tastebuds and instantly elevate your teas or desserts.
Servings 1 cup boba
Calories 793kcal
Ingredients
Boba Pearls
- 65 ml (1/4 cup + 1 tsp) water
- 45 g (3 tbsp) muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar packed
- 110 g (3/4 cup) tapioca starch plus more for dusting
Brown Sugar Boba Syrup
- 240 ml (1 cup) water
- 100 g (1/2 cup) muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar packed
Instructions
Make the dough
- In a mixing bowl, sift the tapioca starch and make sure no large lumps remain.
- Pour the water and sugar into a small pot or saucepan and mix to dissolve the sugar. Then turn on the stove to medium heat and bring it to a boil and cover with a lid to prevent the moisture from leaving. The second it begins to boil, turn the heat to low and carefully pour the tapioca starch into the pot. Using a firm spatula, immediately stir the pot until everything is evenly mixed and a sticky brown dough forms about 5-7 seconds.
- Once incorporated, turn off the heat and add the remaining tapioca starch and mix quickly until incorporated. Take out the dough and knead the dough on a tapioca flour-dusted surface. It may be crumbly at first but as you knead the dough it will form together. Speed is your friend here.
Form the dough into pearls. (Option 1)
- Roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch thick disc. Then using a grid wire rack take a rolling pin and roll the dough on the grid, smushing the dough through the rack forming small squares. Use your fingers to push through any remaining dough. Then roll the pearls into circles and coat with tapioca starch to prevent them from sticking.
Form the dough into pearls. (Option 2)
- Scrape the dough out onto a clean work surface, and split it into three equal portions, cover with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying. Roll out each portion into long ropes, roughly ¼-inch thick. Using a bench scraper, cut the ropes into ¼-inch pieces. Roll each piece of dough with the palms of your hands and shape it into mini spheres. After you roll each ball, coat them with tapioca starch to prevent them from sticking. Repeat until you’ve rolled out all the dough.
Cooking the pearls
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in the tapioca pearls, and keep the water on a rolling boil for 20-25 minutes until the pearls are cooked through. Stir quickly, in the beginning, to prevent the pearls from sticking until they begin to float then you only need to stir the pot once every few minutes. Once the pearls are cooked, drain the water and transfer them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process, they will shrink and firm up slightly.
Caramelizing the pearls
- To make the caramelizing syrup, mix the water and muscovado sugar in a small pot, and bring to a boil. Add in the chilled tapioca pearls, and simmer the boba for 20 minutes until thick and syrupy.
- Serve with your favorite tea or dessert!
Notes
- Work quickly! Once you melt the sugar into the water and incorporate 1/3 of the tapioca powder and form a paste it is crucial that you knead the rest of the tapioca flour in quickly before the dough hardens when it cools.
- If the dough gets dry or crumbly, moisten your hands with water to rehydrate the dough. Keep a bowl of water handy for lightly moistening your hands while you roll out the boba.
- For quickest results, use a grid wire rack. This allows you to form the perfect sized boba pearls instantaneously without having to cut and roll out each pearl. This is the wire rack I use.
- Ask a friend for help. For this recipe, speed is your friend so the more hands the better.
- Use muscovado sugar. Since this recipe calls for only 3 ingredients, the best flavor will come from the best ingredients. Muscovado sugar has a deeper and richer flavor profile than dark brown sugar and you will be able to taste the difference.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 793kcal | Carbohydrates: 205g | Sodium: 3mg | Sugar: 205g