Bubble tea is increasingly popular with new stores opening up near me seemingly everyday but homemade bubble tea is surprisingly easy to make even with vegan substitutions. The pearls are made from tapioca starch which is dyed black and formed into a dough. The dough is very simple to make but can be difficult to shape and work with due to the absence of gluten.
Taro is a type of wild sweet potato popular in South East Asia and the pacific. Making the taro “tea” involves boiling diced taro and then blending it with macadamia milk and condensed coconut milk. I found macadamia milk worked best for this purpose because it is especially rich and creamy but you could substitute another plant-based milk of your choice. Similarly, you can adjust the ratio of condensed milk to make it more or less sweet as you desire.
Homemade Vegan Taro Bubble Tea
Ingredients
- 500 g fresh taro cut into 4 equal pieces
- pinch baking soda
- 1 cup condensed coconut milk
- 2 cups macadamia milk
- ice cubes to serve
Tapioca pearls
- 6 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 2 tablespoons boiling water
- a few drops black food colouring
Instructions
- Start by making the tapioca pearls, in a small bowl mix the boiling water and food colouring. Add the starch and mix until the dough starts to come together.
- Turn onto a flat surface and knead until smooth. Roll dough into a 2cm width cylinder. Cut into even small pieces, approximately ½cm wide. Roll into balls. Bring a pot out of water to the boil then drop in the pearls, stirring to separate. Boil for 15 minutes then drain and transfer to a bowl, cover with room temperature water.
- Meanwhile, to make the tea. Bring a pot of water to the boil. Stir in the baking soda and taro. Boil for 10 minutes then drain. Allow to cool completely then combine condensed milk, milk and taro in a blender and pulse until well combined. Divide pearls among serving glasses and pour over equal amounts of tea and top off with ice.
If I’m using a tarro root powder, how much should I use?