Whomp Power

We went to Bob's Red Mill yesterday, and on a whim bought some small tapioca pearls. We've had some Bubble Tea cafe's pop up in the area, and D thought he could try to make some at home. For those of you that don't know, Bubble Tea originated in Taiwan, and is a milky sweet tea that has pearls of tapioca in the bottom. They usually make it with really big black tapioca pearls, and you drink it with wide straws that can suck up the pearls while you drink. They usually come in a variety flavors and styles: fruity, yogurt, etc. The tapioca pearls start out kind of small, and when you cook them they puff up and become kind of like a gummy treat.

After looking online, Derek adapted some recipes to make some for us. Unfortunately, it takes an hour to make the tapioca pearls, and they don't last so you need to use them right away. It appears that many places use specific flavor powders and such, so Derek had to do some adjusting to use what we had. When he was cooking the first batch of tapioca, the bottom of our pan broke off and stuck to the burner - a bummer as it was the pan we use the most in cooking. The next pan worked just fine, and while the tapioca was cooking he made a simple syrup with both white and brown sugar, and brewed some green tea. To assemble, he put ice, tea, soymilk and the syrup in a cocktail shaker and shook it up. Then he scooped some tapioca pearls in to a glass, and poured the tea mix on top. It was delicious, and tasted like the real thing. We actually like the small tapioca balls better than the big ones you get at a cafe, seemed like less to have to chew on while you are trying to drink... Derek said they are "less intrusive".




I had to throw in a pic of what I made yesterday: vegan brownies!! From the Vive le Vegan cookbook, and man, they were delicious.