Tapioca Pearls with Coconut Milk

It has taken me years and years to be able to publish this recipe, but here it is. First trying to find Tapioca pearls in Spain, which seemed an impossible task, only Sago pearls, which is not the same. THEN, finding a good and simple recipe. Found one in Australia and then lost it. But This recipe really has helped me to nail this dessert. Thank you to this person. Sometimes the most simple recipes are the hardest, and this one seems to be one of them.

So I have just spent today 2 hours throwing a ton of tapioca away after failed attempts. Bad videos everywhere in the internet. This is why I keep this blog, to have things ready to go, or you have to watch and read hours of recipes again. Okay so it is the starch of the tapioca which makes this simple recipe complex, because if you are not careful the whole thing becomes a gelatin mess. But here is the solution. 

INGREDIENTS:
-1/2 cup of tapioca pearls.
-1/2 cup of sugar.
-1 pinch of salt.

-1 can of coconut milk.

-5 cups of water (1.200 ml)

STEPS:

1. Get 5 cups of water and bring to boil. Now, to this boiling water add the tapioca pearls, no rinsing and no nothing, just straight from the package to the pot.

2. Stir them in the boiling water for about 7-8 minutes. Stir, and stir and stir and stir while you listen to your favourite podcast.

3. Now rinse them in cold water, lots of them and set them apart. They will still have a white centre, they will be half-cooked, like in the photo.

4. Now set in the same pot the coconut milk and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil and quickly add the sugar that will dissolve instantly and the salt. Stir quickly and mix it all. 

5. Now add the tapioca pearls and stir, stir, and stir for 15 minutes in medium fire. They willl be cooking through, stir, and stir. 

6. Now lower fire to a minimum and let the tapioca pearls absorb the milk remaining, maybe cover, but be really careful to not let them stick to bottom or burn. 

That's it. Tadah. 

Great texture, just like in Thai restaurant. If it is not sweet enough, just sprinkle some caster sugar and it will be fix it. The dish gets better with time, because the flavours come together.

Finally I nailed this. This was one of my fave desserts in the whole world. And now I've eaten so much tapioca this evening, that I'm going to explode. 

Pics: Singapore.