Tuesday, June 17th, 2008...10:46 am
Tapioca Pudding with Rainbow Boba
Last week my kids and I were lucky enough to be visiting our friends, the Cardens, when Jen was concocting a delicious and playful drink in the kitchen. She was using rainbow colored Boba (Asian tapioca pearls) and mixing them into a drink for the kids to enjoy.
I wasn’t feeling well tonight and was thinking of the types of comfort foods that I used to enjoy as a child when I was sick - and tapioca pudding came to mind. I wondered if I could use some of the rainbow Boba that Jen sent me home with…and onto the internet I journeyed.
I found a recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, Simply Recipes, and am in the middle of making it now. I am on the last portion of the recipe, and my concoction is bubbling gently on the stove. Aside from the burning smell resulting from when my pot of milk boiled over, things are looking pretty good.
Here is the recipe - I just licked the spoon and can’t wait until it is cool enough to try. Stay tuned for more feedback after the kids and I have given it a thorough taste test.
Tapioca Pudding Recipe
Look at the instructions on the package of tapioca that you buy. Some small pearl tapioca requires overnight soaking in water. If your package has that requirement, reduce the milk in the recipe to 2 1/2 cups from 3 cups.
Ingredients
1/2 cup small pearl tapioca (you can usually find it in the baking section of the grocery store, do not use instant tapioca)
3 cups whole milk (or skim milk with cream added)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
Method
1 Combine tapioca, milk, and salt in 1 1/2 quart pan on medium high heat. Stir until boiling. Simmer 5 minutes, uncovered at the lowest possible heat, adding sugar gradually.
2 Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Mix in some of the hot tapioca very slowly to equalize the temperature of the two mixtures (to avoid curdling).
3 Return eggs to pan with tapioca. Bring to a boil. Stir 3 minutes more over lowest possible heat. Stir constantly. You may cook a little longer than 3 minutes if needed to get to a nice thick pudding consistency. Cool 15 minutes. Add vanilla. Serve either warm or chilled.
Note: If you want to make a more light and fluffy, but still rich, tapioca pudding, separate the eggs. Use the egg yolks to stir in first to the pan with the tapioca. Once the pudding has become nice and thick, beat the egg whites in a separate bowl to soft peaks. Remove the pan of tapioca pudding from the stove, fold in the beaten egg whites into the pudding.
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Okay - the verdict:
Everyone loves the flavor of the pudding, although the consistency was a little funky. The boba, which I thought would be everyone favorite part, remained at the bottom of the kids bowls. They said that they were too chewy and would prefer smaller pearls. Perhaps I’ll try to seek out other types of tapioca and see how they work out. Personally, I love the colorful and chewy pearls. They offer a surprise in each bite of pudding!
2 Comments
June 24th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Tried it. Marvelous. Thanks for the recipe.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Thanks Greg! Glad you enjoyed it!!
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