Some recipes call for pre-soaking your boba. This depends on the brand and type of pearls you’ve bought. Some will start disintegrating in the soak, while others might benefit from it. If you can, buy boba that only has one ingredient: tapioca. Those are the best quality, soak or no soak. [1] X Research source
If you’re looking to make bubbles for bubble tea, create a simple syrup for the bubbles to soak in. 1/2 cup boiling water with 1/2 cup sugar will create a sweet gel for them to sop up more flavor. [2] X Research source
If you don’t have the quick-cooking kind of tapioca, you can soak your tapioca overnight in water. Then throw this mixture into a slow cooker for 2 hours to get the tapioca to the right consistency.
You can keep a skin from forming on top if you press plastic wrap onto the surface while chilling. And it won’t dry out! If the pudding’s too stiff when serving, add a bit of milk or cream to make it be more palatable.
Quick-cooking tapioca is ideal for an addition to these dishes. Old-fashioned tapioca has a starker flavor that might end up contrasting with the flavor you’re intending for.
