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    Home » Recipes » Hello

    How to Make Boba Pearls at Home

    April 18, 2020 by Elaine 129 Comments | Jump to Recipe

    • Facebook

    Learn how to make boba pearls with this simple tutorial with nature ingredients at home. Caution firstly, this is a time-consuming recipe due to the long time rounding process. Make this in your leisure time for example during watching TV. To make this chewy small balls, we only need three ingredients, brown sugar or dark brown sugar , tapioca starch and water. Sound quite easy and healthy.

    Homemade boba pearls|chinasichuanfood.com

    You can use this homemade boba pearls to make a traditional Chinese style boba milk tea. My mom always complains milk tea brings her insomnia because of the tea included. And this is her new way of enjoying boba in milk -- only using brown sugar syrup for flavoring. This is also a new star Chinese boba drinking on street.

    Homemade boba pearls|chinasichuanfood.com
    Homemade boba with milk |chinasichuanfood.com

    Cook’s Note

    1. Tapioca starch is the most commonly used option for chewy boba pearls. In Chinese, it is called as "木薯淀粉".  You can get is from amazon. Currently I have never tried other type.
    2. Making part of the tapioca starch gelatinization is the best way of holding all the flour together and form a dough for further steps.   I get several failure report for this one, mainly caused by the over gelatinization or lack of gelatinization.
    3. If the starch is added directly to the boiling water or cold water, then we get a thing named as non-Newtonian fluid and can't from a dough. So we add part of the starch in for the gelatinization.  However if the starch is over heated or cooked, the pearls can't hold the round shape and chewy texture after cooked.  Becomes quite soft and shapeless. So please follow the steps exactly. I highly suggest watching the video and reading the recipe before starting since we do't get too much time for thinking during the process.
    4. The cooked pearls should be used within hours. If you want to use next time, freeze them after the shaping.
    Homemade boba pearls|chinasichuanfood.com

    Steps

    In a small pot, slightly warm the water and dissolve brown sugar (or dark brown sugar).  Let the liquid boil completely over slowest fire. Adding a cover can help to avoid too much water lost.  Add ½ of the tapioca starch in and mix well (count: 6-7 seconds). Remove from heat for electric stove or turn off fire, then add the remaining tapioca starch and continue mixing until gathered. Be quick during this process.

    Homemade boba pearls|chinasichuanfood.com

    Place the remaining flour on an operation board. Transfer the smooth paste in and knead into a dough with the help of a scraper blade. At first, it might be slightly sticky. Slightly dust the board during the kneading process until it becomes smooth, not sticky any more but still soft.  Divide the dough into four parts and then shape one portion into thin and long log. Cut into small cubes.

    Homemade boba pearls|chinasichuanfood.com
    Homemade boba pearls|chinasichuanfood.com

    Round each small squares to small balls (be patient and do not require prefect roundness). You can simple skip this process and save your self lots of time if you get no requirement for the shape.  Longer shaping will make the balls more stable after boiled.

    Homemade boba|chinasichuanfood.com
    how to make boba at home|chinasichuanfood.com

    In a large plate, spread some flour and coat each ball with enough flour to avoid sticking to each other. Then shift the extra starch off. You can now package in air-tight bags and freeze for later use.

    how to make boba pearls at home|chinasichuanfood.com
    boba milk|chinasichuanfood.com

    How to make a brown sugar boba drink| in a small pot, melt 1 slice of brown sugar slab and 1cup brown sugar with 100ml water in a small pot. Simmer until melted. Set aside to cool down.

    Homemade boba|chinasichuanfood.com

    How to cook the boba pearls| bring a large pot of water (at least 6 times of the volume of the pearls) and cook the pears for 20 to 30 minutes. Then transfer the balls into a cold water (they shrink to original size immediately).  Drain and mix with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar syrup or honey to avoid sticky together.

    How to assemble homemade boba milk|Chinasichuanfood.com

    How to assemble| drizzle some brown sugar syrup in serving cup, rotate the cup so the syrup can form marbles on the cup wall. Place boba pearls in. Pour in milk. Shake or stirring before enjoy.

    Homemade boba with milk |chinasichuanfood.com
    how to make boba at home|chinasichuanfood.com

    How to Make Boba Pearls at Home

    Homemade boba pearls
    5 from 14 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 1 day 40 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 393kcal

    Ingredients

    For boba pearls

    • 1 cup around 135g tapioca starch , + 2 tbsp. more for adjusting and coating
    • 6 tbsp. water 90ml
    • 60 g brown sugar

    Serving

    • 4 cups milk

    Brown sugar syrup

    • 1 cup brown sugar
    • 1 brown sugar slab , around 70g (can be replaced by brown sugar too)
    • 100 ml water ⅓ cup + 1.5 tbsp.

    Instructions

    Make boba pearls

    • In a small pot, slightly heat the water and dissolve brown sugar over slowest fire (to avoid too much water lost). Make sure the sugar is dissolved. Heat the liquid to a boiling and then use slowest fire. Now, add ½ of the tapioca starch in and mix quickly (Count 6 to 7seconds). Turn off the fire or remove from fire and add the remaining ½ of the tapioca starch. Mix until gathered. Quick during the process.
    • Place the remaining flour on an operation board. Transfer the smooth paste in and knead into a dough with the help of a scraper blade. At first, it might be slightly sticky. Continue kneading until smooth. Be quick during the process. The dough becomes hard to control when cool down completely.
    • Divide the dough into 4 portions. Remember to cover the other three with plastic bag. Then shape one portion into a long log (around 1.5 cm in diameter), cut the log into small cubes.
    • Round each small squares to small balls (be patient and do not require prefect roundness).
    • In a large plate, spread some flour and coat each ball with enough flour to avoid sticking to each other. After finish all of the pearls, shift the extra flour off. You can now package in air-tight bags and freeze for later use.

    Sugar Syrup

    • In a small pot, melt 2 slices of brown sugar slab and 1cup brown sugar with 100ml water in a small pot. Heat until there are large bubbles. Or you can simply use brown sugar syrup.

    How to cook the boba pearls

    • Bring a large pot of water (at least 6 times of the volume of the pearls) and cook the pears for 20 to 30 minutes. Then transfer the balls into a cold water (they shrink to original size immediately). Wash under running water. Drain and mix with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar syrup or honey (or sugar) to avoid sticky together.

    How to assemble

    • Drizzle some brown sugar syrup in serving cup, rotate the cup so the syrup can form marbles on the cup wall. Place boba pearls in. Pour in milk. Shake or stirring before enjoy.

    Video

    Notes

    Recipe firstly published in 2019 and updated with video in 2020. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 393kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 120mg | Potassium: 384mg | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 395IU | Calcium: 314mg | Iron: 0.6mg
    how to make boba at home|chinasichuanfood.com
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Dayana

      May 01, 2021 at 9:41 pm

      Hi. I tried this recipe from another blog, (but without the sugar), when I put the home made pearls in the hot water all of them melt it right away. Now is a big mess, Is there anyway to make them without the sugar? Thank you

      Reply
      • Elaine

        May 07, 2021 at 8:32 am

        Choose a pot with poor heat holding capacity or shorten the time of heating. It is caused by overheating of the starch.

        Reply
    2. phroggy

      May 24, 2021 at 7:20 am

      5 stars
      ok this is the best boba recipe i have ever seen. other recipes are weird, and gave me the texture of oobleck. this one actually worked and tastes great!

      Reply
      • Elaine

        May 24, 2021 at 8:19 am

        Thank you,Phroggy! I am so happy to read your comment. I really have tested so many times and shared my ratios and all tips in the post. Thank you for such an encouraging comment.

        Reply
      • Sabbasstion Weidright

        December 27, 2021 at 12:37 pm

        Did I make mine incorrectly. Because that is the texture I have been left with?

        Reply
    3. Amy

      August 09, 2021 at 5:25 pm

      Gotta tried this!!😍😍

      Reply
      • Elaine

        August 12, 2021 at 10:04 am

        Happy cooking!

        Reply
    4. Andrea

      September 02, 2021 at 9:35 am

      Hi, I have 2 comments.

      1) My dough was lumpy, I ended up getting the right consistency kinda like play dough but it was still lumpy.

      2. When i cook the boba is really soft and chewy but after a while in cold drink the center becomes a little hard. Do you know what is the problem or what can I do to overcome this?

      Also, can I cook boba and refrigerate to be used 1 or 2 laters without it getting hard?

      Thanks

      Reply
      • Elaine

        September 17, 2021 at 3:58 pm

        Andrea,
        Once you add the flour into the sugar liquid, you need to stir it quickly otherwise lots of small lumps formed.
        If you want to serve the boba peals later, I suggest you add more sugar water to soak them before serving. Or you can add around extra 10ml water for a softer texture.

        Reply
    5. Rumi

      September 18, 2021 at 1:31 am

      Hey there! Can you please guide me on how to avoid "over heating and over cooking of starch" in the step 3. I did used the lowest fire and also remove the pot from fire. But when i boiled the pearls they lost there shape and shrunk. I'm so worried ;-;

      Reply
      • Elaine

        October 10, 2021 at 8:31 pm

        Rumi,
        The key is to use a pot with super low heat storage capacity. If you remove from heat, the temperature drops quickly.

        Reply
    6. Lisa

      September 19, 2021 at 5:10 pm

      Hey, may i please know how to avoid over cooking or over heating of starch in 3rd step. I've been doing it for a year now and sometimes my whole pearl batch is ruined when i cook them. I'm thinking it might be from over cooking of starch you mentioned in step 3
      The consistency of dough is perfectly fine when rolling the pearls plus i did remove it from fire and used the lowest fire in gelatinisation process.

      Reply
      • Elaine

        September 26, 2021 at 9:16 pm

        Lisa, you need to choose a pot with lower heat capacity, which means if you move the pot from fire, the temperature drops immediately.

        Reply
    7. Tracy

      October 10, 2021 at 6:45 am

      Where do I get nutrition facts I mean what website

      Reply
    8. Tracy

      October 10, 2021 at 6:49 am

      What website do I get Nutrition Facts

      Reply
      • Elaine

        October 10, 2021 at 8:21 pm

        Not sure about the website. It is calculated by the recipe plugin. Sorry I have less experience using Nutrition websites.

        Reply
    9. Emma Washburn

      April 10, 2022 at 8:43 am

      5 stars
      Sooo good had to add so extra ingredients because when I added the tapioca powder to the water had to add extra water and the only downside, it is REALLY SWEET!!

      Reply
      • Elaine

        April 16, 2022 at 10:40 am

        Thanks Emma!

        Reply
    10. Rosemary

      April 28, 2022 at 4:48 am

      I need help I've tried this 3 septate times and being careful to follow the recipe directly I keep on getting obleck I'm getting really overwhelmed and really annoyed with myself please

      Reply
      • Elaine

        April 28, 2022 at 11:04 am

        Rosemary,
        If this happens, the most possible reason might be the temperature is not hot enough. You need to heat the water to a boiling (hot enough) before adding the starch to mix. I suggest you preparing yourself with a small pot of boiling water by hand. If it continues to present obleck, add a small pot of hot boiling water can help. Heating in pot for seconds also helps.

        Reply
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