Soft and chewy large tapioca pearls are served in creamy and sweet coconut milk is a simple yet delicious dessert and learn how to cook tapioca pearls with a pressure cooker or on the stove the right way.
Easy Tapioca Pearls Coconut Milk Dessert
Tapioca pearls are one of those things that you can be assured many Asians enjoy to eat (including myself). I remember the days back when I was still in college, the bubble tea pearls or 珍珠奶茶 that was originated from Taiwan (I believe!) was crazy popular. It seemed like everyone had bubble tea whenever I went. It seems like the bubble tea fever is back again lately. Or has the bubble tea fever ever gone down at all? Anyway, I never really into bubble tea, but I do love tapioca pearls coconut milk dessert 🙂 Anything in coconut milk really!
WHAT ARE TAPIOCA PEARLS?
Tapioca pearls are also known as boba pearls. They are basically made of tapioca starch that is extracted from cassava roots. They come in different sizes and different colors, from tiny pearls to large pearls (as shown in the photo below). They are usually available in dried form in Asian grocery stores. When they are cooked, they will gel and turn translucent.
DO TAPIOCA PEARLS HAVE ANY TASTE?
They actually have no taste on their own. They are most commonly seen used in bubble tea, but also widely used in many desserts in Southeast Asia.
HOW DO I KNOW THE TAPIOCA PEARLS ARE DONE COOKING?
Small pearls will cook faster than the large pearls, like the one I used in this recipe. You will commonly hear that when the middle whitish part disappears and they turn completely translucent, they are done. Well, the majority of them will turn completely translucent. BUT, don’t be surprised to find there might be still a couple that still has little whitish in the middle. You should go by how the texture is like when you take a bite instead of the look. It should be chewy/toothsome, but the middle part shouldn’t be starchy or hard anymore even though there might still some cloudiness.
DO I NEED TO SOAK THE TAPIOCA PEARLS BEFORE COOKING?
I’m glad you ask! because I’ve seen many videos that do that and so I tried. Mine turn into mush when I soak these large pearls! The starch literally dissolves in the soaking water! If you purchase the dried tapioca pearls from Asian store like the one I shown here in photo, DO NOT soak them in water. They need to go into a boiling water. The ones that require soaking usually a quick-cook variety. I’ve never purchased those before because I usually got mine from the Asian stores, which usually doesn’t require soaking if you are making this recipe.
HOW TO COOK LARGE TAPIOCA PEARLS ON THE STOVE
1. Bring water to boil
Do not add tapioca pearls to cold water or they will turn into mush
2. Add tapioca pearls
Add tapioca pearls in the boiling water and then lower the heat to medium and let the large pearls cook for the next 1 hour or until they are soft to bite. The majority of them will turn completely translucent. You might find a few that still have a little whitish in the middle. Do not worry about that. They should be soft to bite too.
3. Drain cooking water
4. Refresh
Once you drain off the cooking water, refresh with clean water to stop the cooking process
5. Soak in water
Soak the cooked tapioca pearls in water to prevent them from sticking to each other
HOW TO COOK LARGE TAPIOCA PEARS WITH INSTANT POT PRESSURE COOKER
This is actually my favorite way of cooking large tapioca pearls from now on. It’s not any faster, but you can pretty much set and forget.
1. Pour water into the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Press saute mode and bring it to a boil
2. Add tapioca pearls. Turn off the saute mode
3. Close the lid and turn the steam release valve to “sealing”. Press “pressure cooker” and then make sure it’s on “high pressure”. Set timer to 30 minutes
4. After 30 minutes, release the pressure immediately
5. Drain off the cooking liquid and refresh the cooked tapioca pearls with clean water
6. Soak them in water to prevent them from sticking to each other
HOW TO STORE COOKED TAPIOCA PEARLS
I don’t recommend cooking tapioca pearls in a big batch. Cooked tapioca pearls are best used on the same day, but if you have extra, they can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days max. The longer you store them, the harder they become. Here’s how to store them:
After rinsing them with water they won’t clump together anymore and this also stops the cooking process and they won’t get mushy. Keep them covered in a simple syrup solution. I usually do 1:1 ratio of sugar and water and boil them in a pan until the sugar dissolves then let them cool down and pour over the cooked tapioca pearls. Don’t store them in the fridge as they will harden. That’s just the way tapioca is.
Now are you ready to join the tapioca pearls club? 🙂
Easy Tapioca Pearls Coconut Milk Dessert
Ingredients
- 160 gr large tapioca pearls 1 cup
- 5 cups water
Coconut sauce:
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 100 gr sugar more or less the amount to your preference
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 pandan leaves knotted
Instructions
Cook the large tapioca pearls in Instant Pot pressure cooker:
- Pour water into the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Press saute mode and bring it to a boil. Add tapioca pearls. Turn off the saute mode. Close the lid and turn the steam release valve to “sealing”. Press “pressure cooker” and then make sure it’s on “high pressure”. Set the timer to 30 minutes
- After 30 minutes, release the pressure immediately. Try one of the pearls. It should be soft and chewy. You may still see the cloudy/whitish spot in the middle, but as long as it's not tough and pleasantly chewy, they are done cooking. If not, pressure cook for another 5 minutes. Drain off the cooking liquid and refresh the cooked tapioca pearls with clean water and they won't be sticky anymore and ready to be used.
Cook the tapioca pearls on the stove:
- Bring Water to a rolling boil. Add tapioca pearls in and lower the heat to medium, cover with a lid and let it gently simmer for the next 45 minutes. You need to stir them every now and then. You may still see the cloudy/whitish spot in the middle, but as long as it's not tough and pleasantly chewy, they are done cooking
- Once the tapioca pearls are cooked, strain off the cooking liquid and rinse with clean running water to stop the cooking process and they won't be sticky anymore too. They are ready to be used
Make the coconut sauce (can be made ahead):
- Place the sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Do not bring to a boil, just let it come to a gentle simmer to dissolve sugar. Remove from the heat. Store in a glass container and they can be kept in refrigerator for up to 1 week max
Serving:
- Scoop few tablespoons of the tapioca pearls onto a small serving bowl. Ladle the coconut sauce over and serve
8 comments
Hi,
Can I use black/dark tapioca pearls instead? Like the ones commonly used for boba? Thanks!
Hi Dorothy, yes you can. The cooking time may vary a bit, sometimes it also really depends on the manufacturer too.
I would love to try this recipe but what really brought me here was my quest to make a traditional American style tapioca pudding with large pearl tapioca. I bought a bag of large pearls at my favorite Asian grocer and tried to soak them overnight to make the pudding the next day. To my frustration, they did just what you said and turned to mush. How would you recommend I prepare these same kind of Asian large pearl tapioca to be used in a traditional tapioca pudding recipe? Thanks for your help. I’m glad I found this site because I love all manner of Asian food!
Hi Christine, I’m experimenting with this and I’ll keep you posted soon.
Hi Christine, just to let you know that I’ve posted the tapioca pudding here: https://whattocooktoday.com/large-pearl-tapioca-pudding.html Please let me know if anything is unclear. I hope this helps!
I believe the soaking method only applies to the quick-cook variety of tapioca pearls, not the traditional Asian packs you show in the photo
I agree Trala, because this version turns into mush when I soak them LOL!
Perfect summer treat ! Thank you !