How To Cook Boba In Rice Cooker

Boba is a popular Taiwanese beverage also called Boba Pearls or Tapioca Pearls. It is made of Tapioca starch that is extracted from cassava root. There are different varieties of Boba Pearls such as Black tapioca pearls, White tapioca pearls, dried Tapioca pearls and many others. Aside from the different types of Boba, there are also different ways on how to cook them although the cooking process is quiet similar the only difference is the cooking equipment used. But for today’s guide, we will talk about how to cook Boba in Rice Cooker.

How To Cook Boba In Rice Cooker

Before we proceed on how to cook Boba using rice cooker, let us first talk more about Boba Pearls.

As mentioned, Boba pearls are made of Tapioca Starch. Boba are small-sized pearls or small round balls that has a soft and chewy boba texture similar to that of a gummy candies. It is often used as the main ingredient in Bubble teas. Boba Pearls when added to Bubble teas, it usually settles at the bottom of a tall Bubble tea glass. To suck Boba from the bottom of the glass, a Bubble tea straw should be used as it has a wider tip that Boba pearls could easily fit into.

The size of Tapioca pearls ranges between 1 mm to 8mm in diameter. The most common type of Boba is opaque when it is still raw and will eventually turn into translucent after it is being cooked. Most of the time, Boba pearls are soaked in water for a longer period of time and is used not only in Bubble milk tea but in other food preparations as well.

Three common types of Tapioca pearls

Tapioca pearls comes in different types and these are:

White Tapioca Pearls- clear tapioca pearls that is usually made by pushing the wet tapioca starch into a sieve, a fine mesh strainer, whereby the wet tapioca pearls become pellets.

Black Tapioca Pearls- white tapioca pearls with white sugar added to it to turn into dark or black tapioca pearls.

Mini Tapioca Pearls- these type of Tapioca pearls are prepared similar to how a regular tapioca pearl is prepared. Mini tapioca pearls only requires as regular plastic straw to suck pearls from the bottom of the glass or tall cup while with a regular Boba an oversized straw should be used to suck the pearls from the bottom of the glass so that it can easily fit through it.

How to make Tapioca pearls

Making Tapioca pearls is not only an easy process but also interesting. To make tapioca pearls, simply mix water and fine tapioca flour to make it into a dough. By slowly cooking tapioca dough while at the same time stirring occasionally. At the end of the cooking time, the dough will dry up and will eventually turn into flakes. The Flakes are then processed using hammer mills to form to its size of choice. After which it is then dried using warm air and then cool down at room temperature.

There are different methods for cooking Boba: in the microwave, in an instant pot and in a slow cooker or rice cooker.

How to cook Boba

1. In a large pot, add 10 cups of water and bring to boil. The Boba should be able to move around so as they do no stick with each other, therefore it should be at least 1/2 to 2/3 full of water.
2. Add 1/2 cup of Tapioca pearls to the boiling water and stir to mix it well. Boba Pearls should float on the surface of the pot. Floating Boba will tell you that you are using a good batch of Boba, if they do not float it simply means it is a bad batch. (Note: make sure not to wash Boba before you add it to the pot since it will disintegrate easily)
3. Over medium heat, cook for half hour uncovered. Make sure to occasionally stir.
4. Remove large pot from the heat and cover. Set aside and allow to cool down for 30 minutes.
5. Using a strainer, drain and rinse Boba pearls over running water. or you can just add water just enough to cover the cooked Boba pearls. This will help remove leftover Tapioca starch.
6. To sweeten Boba, add brown sugar, honey or sugar syrup.

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How to cook Boba in a Rice cooker

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Boba
• 3 cups water

Directions:

Tips on how to perfectly cook Boba:

• Do not rinse Boba before cooking
• Once Boba pearls are cooked, remove from the heat and allow to cool down for a few minutes
• Use a strainer to drain Tapioca pearls
• Remove excess starch by running cooked tapioca pearls under cold water.
• Tapioca pearls should be soft and chewy consistency, make sure not to overcook Boba pearls.
• If you want to prepare Boba ahead of time, it can only be prepared in advance for 24 hours. But serving Boba within 12 hours after the cooking process is best.

Frequently asked questions:

Conclusion

There are several ways on how to cook Boba but cooking Boba using the rice cooker is mentioned in this article. We hope that this guide has helped you cook your very own Boba tea for your Boba tea.