HOW TO COOK LARGE TAPIOCA PEARLS

 It took me a long time to find proper sized tapiocas. The cooking aisle for many years seems to favour the tiny ones. Thanks to our growing obsession with Boba tea (Thanks Taiwan!), I found a beautiful bag of fat pearly tapiocas. I soaked them overnight on instinct, and end up with a gelatinous mass of gluten! DO NOT SOAK RAW TAPIOCAS!

So, thanks to google, and a website called What to Cook Today, here is the recipe that works (although it is a two day process, so no spur of the moment option!)

Prep 5 minutes

Cook 20 minutes

Soak 8 hours 15 minutes

Serves 6 (or me, 6 lucky times!)

1 cup large tapioca pearls (for the British in you 160 g)

8 cups water

2 cups milk (whole, coconut, soya)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg or 1 T cornstarch +  1 T water

vanilla extract

Precook 1 cup pearls in 8 cups water. Bring to boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Stir to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot. Turn off, cover, and soak 8-12 hours (OVERNIGHT).

Drain and put fresh 8 cups of water in the pot with pre soaked pearls. Simmer and stir for 15 minutes. Turn off and soak 15 minutes. The pearls should be translucent. Drain in fine sieve, and rinse. 

Sprinkle with 1 T of sugar to keep another day or two without sticking.

Make pudding by putting milk, salt, sugar, and pearls in a pot, and simmer until sugar dissolves. 

SKIP FOR CORNSTARCH: Add the egg by tempering. Whisk separately, then slowly add a small amount of cooled milk until the mixture thickens. Pour the tempered egg/milk mixture into the milk and stir. Remove from head and cool. 

Whisk the cornstarch and water until combined. Stir into milk mixture, and remove from heat. Cool. 

Add vanilla.

Eat warm, or refrigerate when cool. 

I like mine served with a dollop of raspberry jam.