How to Cook Large Asian Pearl Tapioca

If you’ve ever enjoyed a refreshing glass of bubble tea, you may have wondered about the squishy blobs swimming in the bottom of your glass. Made from tapioca starch, which comes from bitter cassava melons, large tapioca pearls can be either soft white or glossy black. As with any starch, the proper cooking method and careful attention to timing are crucial to ensuring that they do not cook up either too hard or too mushy. When prepared correctly, tapioca pearls are silky, tender and slightly firm.

Things You'll Need

Pot with lid
Wooden spoon
Mesh strainer or colander

Simple syrup
Airtight container with lid

Instructions

Fill a large pot with water. Exact amounts are not required, but make sure you have enough water to let the tapioca pearls move freely without sticking to each other.
Bring the water to a full rolling boil. Add the pearl tapioca slowly, stirring it with a wooden spoon to keep the pearls from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Boil the tapioca pearls for 15 minutes, stirring them occasionally. Turn the heat down a little bit if the pot boils over or the tapioca pearls are sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let the tapioca pearls sit for another 15 minutes to ensure that they are cooked through. Taste one pearl, being careful not to burn your mouth. The texture should be firm but with no crunch or starchy taste, even in the center. If the pearls are not done, bring the pot back to a boil for 5 minutes and remove it from the heat to sit for another 5 minutes.
Drain the tapioca pearls in a mesh strainer or colander, shaking the strainer gently to help remove all of the excess water. Store cooked tapioca pearls in enough sugar syrup -- also called simple syrup -- to cover them in an airtight container with a lid.

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