How to cook boba pearls (珍珠) - Oh My Food Recipes (2024)

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A popular Taiwanese Asian boba drink combines milk tea or flavor powder with cooked tapioca pearls, boba. Wanna know how to cook the best and fastest boba? Try out this instant pot boba recipe. It only takes a few minutes!

Love Asian dessert? Check out these almond jello, red bean ice drink, white rabbit candy ice cream, taro tapioca dessert and black sesame filling tang yuan recipes.

How to cook boba pearls (珍珠) - Oh My Food Recipes (1)

What is boba?

Boba pearls are made from tapioca starch. Also, they are chewy and black or brownish.

How to cook boba pearls?

If you buy boba, each brand of boba has an instruction to teach you how to cook them. Since I have tried different brands and followed their instructions. However, it always takes longer to cook them than it said on the packages. And, the middle of the boba was still not done when I used the top stove method.

After many attempts to cook good boba using a top stove. Finally, I tried to use an instant pot pressure cooker to cook them. Amazingly, it turns out very nice and chewy boba pearls in only 2 minutes! Therefore, from now on I only use a pressure cooker to cook boba. Not only it's simple and easy, but also the inside of boba is cooked through. When you know how to cook good boba pearls now, you will make boba drink all the time.

What are the ingredients for boba instant pot?

The ingredients areboba, water and brown sugar.

How to cook boba pearls (珍珠) - Oh My Food Recipes (2)

Cooking tips for how to cook boba in instant pot:

  • Put boba into instant put and add water.
  • Make sure every boba pearl is covered with water.
  • Close lid and vent and manual for 2 minutes at high pressure. Then, quick release.
  • Remember to let the pressure release before opening the lid.
  • Drain water and rinse with warm water

FAQs:

How to store cooked boba?

If you have any left over boba, put them in a container with a lid on and refrigerate them. When you want to use it, just warm them up in a microwave for 20-30 seconds.

How long can I keep cooked boba?

Often, it can store up to 4-5 days in a refrigerator.

What brand of boba did you use?

I used E-Fa brand boba in this recipe.

Instructions for how to cook instant pot boba:

1. Put 1 cup of boba into an instant pot pressure cooker.

How to cook boba pearls (珍珠) - Oh My Food Recipes (4)

2. Then, add 2 cups of water. Next, cover the lid and close the vent.

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3. Next, push the manual button for 2 minutes at high pressure. After that, quick release pressure. Remember to wait until all the pressure releases before opening the lid.

How to cook boba pearls (珍珠) - Oh My Food Recipes (6)

4. After that, drain water and rinse boba pearls with warm water then add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and mix it well.

How to cook boba pearls (珍珠) - Oh My Food Recipes (7)

Enjoy this simple and easy instant pot boba recipe! Also, check out some healthy strawberry banana smoothie, mango popsicles and grass jelly recipes!

How to cook boba pearls (珍珠) - Oh My Food Recipes (8)

More Dessert Recipes You May Also Like:

  • BLACK SESAME PASTE OR SOUP
  • TOFU PUDDING
  • CARAMEL POPCORN
  • FRESH STRAWBERRIES MUFFINS

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How to cook boba pearls (珍珠) - Oh My Food Recipes (9)

How to cook boba pearls

Boba pearls are made from tapioca starch. They are chewy and black or brownish. This recipe use instant pot pressure cooker to cook them quick and perfect.

5 from 74 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert, Drinks

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Taiwanese

Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes minutes

Total Time: 4 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 79kcal

Author: Tracy O.

Video

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Boba
  • 2 cups Water
  • 2 tablespoons Brown sugar

Instructions

  • Put 1 cup of boba intoinstant pot pressure cooker.

  • Then, add 2 cups of water. Next, cover the lid and close the vent.

  • Push the manual button for 2 minuets at high pressure. After that, quick release pressure. Remember to wait until all the pressure release before opening the lid.

  • Drain water and rinse boba pearls with warm water then add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and mix it well.

Notes

Cooking tips for how to cook instant pot boba:

  • Put boba into instant put and add water.
  • Make sure every boba pearls is covered with water.
  • Close lid and vent and manual for 2 minutes at high pressure. Then, quick release.
  • Remember to let the pressure release before opening the lid.
  • Drain water and rinse with warm water.

Nutrition

Calories: 79kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 4mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg

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How to cook boba pearls (珍珠) - Oh My Food Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Can I cook boba in the microwave? ›

There are 2 methods: Cooking the instant boba pearls using a microwave (preferred) Boiling the instant boba pearls in a pot with water.

How long do sago pearls take to cook? ›

In a pot over medium heat, bring enough water to cover sago pearls to a boil. Add sago pearls, stir gently, and cook for about 10 minutes or until translucent. Remove from heat, rinse well, and drain.

How to cook boba in rice cooker? ›

Instructions:
  1. Boil water until bubbling in a deep pot (or rice cooker)
  2. Once water is boiling, add tapioca in and turn the temperature down to medium.
  3. Cook for approximately 35 minutes with lid off, stirring regularly to separate the pearls.

Is boba healthy? ›

Unfortunately, boba itself provides very few health benefits, though its calories and carbohydrates can provide you with a boost in energy. In most cases, boba tea contains high levels of sugar, which is linked to long-term health conditions like diabetes and obesity.

How do you boil white boba pearls? ›

Boil 6-7 cups of water and add these dry tapioca pearls. Allow this to cook for 7-8 minutes on a medium high heat. Later after done, reduce the heat to a low and again cook for 10-12 more minutes. Remove them once they get cooked well and begin to float on the surface.

How to make boba without boiling? ›

If you do choose to soak the pearls overnight, you won't have to boil them. Soaking takes 8-12 hours, though—you want your bubble tea fast! Bubble tea is usually made with large, black tapioca pearls, but you can make it with small, white pearls, too. Both types taste exactly the same—neutral.

How to soften boba pearls? ›

Use a pot of boiling water: To reheat tapioca pearls, the best method is to use a pot of boiling water. Simply place the pearls in a fine mesh strainer and place it over a pot of boiling water. Let the pearls cook for 2-3 minutes, or until they have returned to their chewy texture.

How to heat instant boba? ›

Just throw the pack into a pot of boiling water and give it a few moments to cook. ✅ SHOWCASE YOUR CREATIVITY - Create tasty snacks and desserts by topping them with these brown sugar boba pearls. These chewy pearls will make an excellent add-on for pudding, waffles, or ice cream.

What is the difference between sago and pearls? ›

Sago is an edible starch that is made from the pith of an array of tropical palm trees. It's a staple food in parts of the tropics. Tapioca pearls, on the other hand, are made with tapioca or the starch from cassava, a root crop.

Which is healthier, sago or tapioca? ›

Nutritional Benefits

For every 100g, sago has 83 grams of carbohydrates, while tapioca has 88.7 grams of carbohydrates. Both tapioca and sago pearls have less than 1 gram of protein, fat, and fiber. In terms of energy per 100g, sago contains 332 kcal and tapioca contains 358 kcal.

How to cook boba pearls perfectly? ›

You need to add uncooked tapioca pearls to boiling water for roughly 10 minutes (medium heat), stir, and then turn off the heat and keep them in the saucepan for the next 10-15 minutes. It also depends on the brand of tapioca pearls used.

How to microwave boba pearls? ›

Directions
  1. Microwave. Tear a small opening in the instant pearl pack and put the pack in a cup. Non microwave. Put the instant pearl pack in a cup.
  2. Microwave. Pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds- 1 minute. Depending on desired chewiness. ...
  3. Empty boba from the pack and add it to your bubble tea. Enjoy! *Caution hot contents!
Feb 22, 2022

What are boba pearls soaked in? ›

Various forms of tapioca pearls include black, flavored, popping, mini, and clear. Tapioca pearls are commonly soaked in sugar syrup to make them sweet and chewy. In teas, they are often added for their texture, with the flavor being provided by the drink itself.

Are boba pearls digestible? ›

Pearls are made of tapioca starch, which is glue-like. The pearls that are not digested well combine with other foods consumed and cause faeces to become sticky, which leads to partial or total bowel obstruction.”

Do you need to soak tapioca pearls? ›

First, it is important to soak small pearl tapioca before attempting to make pudding with it, or the texture will be off. Some people soak overnight, but we found that 30 minutes or so worked with small tapioca, resulting in a lively textured tapioca with wonderful creamy, custard bridging the beads.

How do you boil boba packets? ›

Alternatively, boil the (sealed) boba sachet in a sauce pan with water for 3 to 5 minutes, add the contents of the boba sachet to 1 cup of ice and 1 cup of milk (or alternative), then stir and enjoy. On the side of the preparation instructions, Boba Bam suggests also mixing with tea or a smoothie.

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