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Tapioca pearls
粉圓
Also called boba, bubble tea pearls, black tapioca pearls, fen yuan
Chewy balls of tapioca starch, usually coloured black with brown sugar. The pearls in bubble tea.
Origin
Taiwan popularised the large black pearl; small clear pearls are older and pan-Asian.
Flavour
Nearly neutral; they carry whatever syrup they sit in. Texture is the point.
How it is made
Tapioca starch is moistened, rolled into balls and dried. Quick-cook pearls are par-cooked.
How to use it
Boil in plenty of water until translucent, rest off the heat, then soak in brown sugar syrup. Eat within a few hours; they harden when cold.
Storage
Dry pearls keep for months in an airtight tub. Cooked pearls do not keep.
