black milk tea tapioca pudding

I suffer a nagging obsession over bubble tea (or boba tea, which more accurately implies tea with tapioca).  I love it so much that I rang in 2011 with sips of black milk bubble tea.  A resounding “yes!” to bubble tea over champagne.  And if it weren’t chockfull of calories, I would have it everyday.  Well, I do, in fact, prepare black milk tea (without tapioca) everyday at home.  And so, it was over one of my daily black milk tea breaks that I thought — why not black milk tea tapioca pudding?!?  I love tapioca pudding and what could possibly go wrong to flavor it like the drink I love so much?  Well, it didn’t go wrong.   And I think I just made a brand new dessert!

I made sure to use real tapioca pearls instead of opting for the shortcut, instant tapioca.  Small tapioca pearls are very inexpensive, and you can pick up a nearly one pound bag for $1 at most Asian grocery stores.  They may require a lot of patience to make, but they’re worth the wait.  Make sure to soak your tapioca in the tea overnight to get the full flavor in the pearls.

2 c water

6 bags of black tea

1/3 c small tapioca pearls (not instant)

1 c evaporated milk

1/2 c condensed milk

1 egg yolk

 

1. Boil water and place tea bags.  Turn off heat.  Steep tea and cool.

2. Add tapioca pearls to tea.  Cover.  Soak overnight.

3. Wring and remove tea bags.  Heat tapioca and tea over medium heat.

4. In a bowl, whisk evaporated milk, condensed milk, and egg yolk.

5. Add whisked milk and egg to tapioca and tea, stirring continuously over medium heat until it boils and thickens.

6. Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes until desired consistency.

The use of evaporated milk and condensed milk is what makes most Asian black milk tea so special.  And appropriately, they give this tapioca pudding the authentic black milk bubble tea flavor I crave.  Too bad, this is one dessert I can’t have (mustn’t have) everyday.