Craving for bubble tea? One of my favourite BBT drinks is the popular Brown Sugar Pearl Milk. So since I’m stuck at home, I decided to make my own drink and my own brown sugar tapioca pearls (some call it boba). Instead of using brown sugar, I used gula melaka – a palm sugar with hints of coconut flavour. The result is a sweet, sticky, fragrant mix of chewy pearls and creamy fresh milk. Verdict: craving satisfied!

Ingredients:
(Makes 4 cups)

Tapioca Pearls
50g gula melaka
70ml water
100g tapioca starch, sifted

Gula Melaka Syrup
100g gula melaka
100ml water

1 litre fresh milk

Method:

1. To make tapioca pearls, bring 70ml of water and 50g of gula melaka to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat
2. Add a small amount of sifted tapioca starch in and stir very quickly
3. Turn off the stove’s heat and stir in the rest of the tapioca starch
4. Stir until a soft dough is formed
5. Transfer dough to countertop and knead until dough is smooth
6. Divide dough into half, roll each half into a log and cut into half again.
7. Roll each piece of dough into long strips and cut into small pieces
8. Roll dough pieces into small balls, like pearls, between the palms of your hands
9. Bring a large pot of water to boil, then cook the tapioca pearls for 15 minutes
10. Strain cooked tapioca pearls and transfer immediately into a bowl ice-cold water
11. To make gula melaka syrup, bring 100ml water and 100g gula melaka to boil in a saucepan
12. Add in tapioca pearls and boil until the sauce has reduced into a sticky syrup
13. Remove from heat and set aside
14. To assemble, spoon gula melaka pearls into a glass, smearing the syrup around the inside of the glass
15. Pour cold milk over the pearls and enjoy!