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Panda Tapioca Milk Tea With Panda Boba


When I had my first tapioca milk tea, I was a student at UCSD. I was at a “Tapioca Express” AKA “Tapex” on Convoy Street after school, getting in a queue with a bunch of Asian Americans with my heavy backpack filled with textbooks. Asians in the states love Boba, and I became one of them ever since I had my fist Boba at Tapex on Convoy 🙂

Boba tea is called “Bubble tea” in Singapore, and of course, I didn’t know that, because my boba education started in California. So when I just arrived in Singapore, I was over the moon; boba milk tea everywhere! I stood up at the counter of Gong Tea, one of the main boba tea places in Singapore, and I said this to the cashier with full confidence:

“Can I have a milk tea with boba?”

They looked confused so I figured they couldn’t understand my “Engrish”, so I just pointed out a picture of boba on a menu with my crazy dimples, and they eventually understood and I got the boba tea I wanted. When I told this story to my Singaporean friend, he first thought I was joking, or something. But I’m Japanese; we don’t know how to joke. Soon after I noticed that I was making him uncomfortable by talking about this very topic.

His face started blushing, and that’s when I realized I did something so, so wrong. He told me this:

“Boba” in Chinese is a slang term used for “big breast” or “big-breasted female”. Only in the states do they use the word as the new meaning of tapioca ball, probably due to its spherical resemblance.

So… that’s it. I was basically ordering a drink with big boobs. No wonder they looked confused! If you want a boba tea in Singapore, say “bubble tea”. Or “tea with tapioca pearls”. It’s really not fun to embarrass the nice locals with your ignorance!Since I had an unforgettable boba experience in Asia, I decided to make my own boba that is more unforgettable to retroactively fix my own mistakes I made in the past. Boba we know is a black tapioca ball. But what if I can make it look like a certain shape? What would I do if I were to own a boba shop or something…?

I thought about it for a second and came up with this idea that I wanted my boba to look like a panda, because pandas are cute, pandas are Asians, and pandas make me forget all the pain I’ve caused in the past.

And that’s how this recipe today was created.

I don’t know why we get so attached to the idea of pandas, but I can’t help it. If you are like me who loves anything that has a panda face on it, maybe you understand this inexplicable love that I have for pandas.

Panda Tapioca Milk Tea With Panda Boba
 
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Serves: 1~3 boba tea
Ingredients
For Boba (Tapioca pearls)
  • ・50g Tapioca flour
  • ・50g Silken Tofu
  • ・2 tbsp Cocoa powder
For milk tea
  • ・Your favorite black tea
  • ・Milk (I used my Almond Milk" ) to taste

 

1: Mix the boba ingredients.
Knead with your hand until the dough becomes smooth. If the mixture is too dry, add a little tofu till the dough is just right. (When it’s too dry, it gets difficult to stick ears to the panda face.)yukitchenpandaanmitsu19 copy
2: Separate the dough into 2 colors.
Take 1/4 of the dough and knead again with cocoa powder. The color of brown turns darker after boiling, so no need to put too much cocoa powder this time.pandashiratama6
3: Make pandas.
Make sure your pandas are as small as tapioca pearls so you can still suck it from a boba straw. When attaching ears to the face, make sure the dough is sticky enough to stick together, otherwise, they might fall apart when boiling. No one likes earless pandas.yukitchenpandaboba121
4: Finish the panda facial parts.
This is my panda boba looks like. Each panda looks slightly different than others, and that is the wonderful thing about homemade cooking. yukitchenpandaboba31
Panda madness!
yukitchenpandaboba141
5: Boil the pandas.
Toss the pandas gently in boiling water with low heat, and cook them till they float. It should take around 5 minutes. When pandas start to float, that means they are ready to be picked up.yukitchenpandaboba61
6: Drain the pandas and you are almost done. 
yukitchenpandaboba81

7: Serve it with your favorite tea.
Your special Tapioca Milk tea with Panda boba is now ready to be served.

They look so cute, but this picture reminded me of Japanese trains in Tokyo during their epic rush-hour time. Too many pandas, too little space!

Sucking the pandas from a boba straw might have been one of the weirdest things I’ve done in my life.
yukitchenpandaboba11
I recommend eating the panda boba on the same day you cooked, but it can be stored in the fridge for 2~3 days. Put the boba in a container with a little bit of water, and it should be fine.

Boba brings me back to the memories of UCSD days… I loved the days I spent there and I really miss saying this common phrase I used to say all the time with my friends: “Do you wanna go get boba?” 😀

Now that I’m in Asia, I never use the word “boba” anymore. I can’t wait to go back to the states and maybe Tapex wants to collaborate with me, or something. That would be so, so amazing, don’t you think? xx

Thanks for reading!
-Yuki

Comments

  1. OH MY GOSH! I just stumbled across this as I was searching for reviews on “panda tapioca” (which is just plain black pearls and plain white pearls). Major chains carry “panda pearls” and I was wondering if the white pearls were flavoured differently. However, FORGET ABOUT THAT. THIS IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ve always wanted to make HOMEMADE tapioca pearls because you hear so much about the unknown ingredients being in the ones that are sold in chains and asian supermarkets, as they are made overseas in taiwan most of the time. I always hear about the manufacturers sneaking in PCBs? and non-food ingredients into them which stops me from drinking BBT all the time. But because of you, I don’t have to worry! I was searching for “homemade tapioca pearls” for god knows HOW LONG… And I happen to come across this, and even better, they’re SO CUTE. Question: Do they actually have the same consistency as store bought tapioca pearls? THANK YOU X 2BILLION.

    Reply

  2. i’ve never heard of this tea and these pandas before but oh my gosh you just made my day !

    when i was first living in Italy and learning the language i also made one of those breast boo boo’s

    i told a barman i needed to have some cream bc i had lost “weight” confusing the word for weight with the word for breast / he responded with quickly bringing me a big bottle of cream

    peso : weight
    petto : breast

    Reply

  4. ah, just the other day i was thinking of looking to see if people had recipes for boba. I remember going to get boba with friends at my time at UCI. there’s a place right across the university called “cha for tea” that we used to get it at. that place was my first time tasting boba and i got hooked. dont drink it as often anymore but its good memories and when i go to irvine, i sometimes stop by and get a honeydew milk tea with boba or thai tea with boba. mmm college memories

    (i mostly dont drink it anymore because the drinks are really sweet and im looking to be healthier by cutting out sweets hah)

    Reply

  7. OMG!!!! These boba are over the top CUTE! I have seen nothing like this! Soooo awesome! They look too cute to be eaten. 🙂

    On the topic of “boba”, I know exactly what you are talking about. When I first came to the States, I can’t understand why they would use the word “boba”. What an awkward term! In HK, we called them “pearl”. Sounds much better, right?

    By the way, are your little cartoons guinea pigs? I used to have 2. They were really cool pets!

    Reply

    • “pearl” in Singapore too 😉 Also plain “tapioca” in Japan and UK. Funny how they call is so differently!

      And YES. Thanks for noticing my precious piggies. They are indeed my guinea pigs. They rock my world. <3

      Reply

  8. I never comment on blogs, but I stumbled upon this from tastespotting. I AM ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE and especially the fact that you used silken tofu. This is already on my to-do cooking list 🙂 Thanks for the creativity!

    Reply

  11. Oh my! What an embarrassing experience ordering that tea. Let’s hope your American accent was enough that they didn’t even catch the inappropriateness. These are the cutest little darn things I have ever laid my eyes oh. They must have been loads of fun to make.

    Reply

  14. I don’t eat soy beans which means I don’t eat Tofu (rare that is). Is there anything you could use in place of Tofu?? Thanks Very much!

    Reply

    • Hi Rita! Glad you noticed 😀 Please try this recipe, it makes you and your people so happy <3 xxx And my Nutella is so addicting too 😉 Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy cooking <3

      Reply

  17. OMG I can’t wait to try this one day. Not sure about the tofu part of it, but if I change it to water, how much would I put in there? The same amount as the tofu?

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  19. These are super cute. ^_^ Do they actually taste like tea? Like green or breakfast tea? Never had tapioca before. I might make them one day when I have a lot of time and patience to spare. They look very small and fiddly, so you must have a lot of skill. 🙂

    Reply

    • Also, I have no Idea where I’d get any of these ingredients in my country. Most people here are big meat and dairy eaters. I’ve never seen tofu or special flours on the super market shelf. (the shops in my area sell pain, self raising, and strong bread flour). =P Maybe it’s because I’m in one of the poorest, least diverse areas of the country. 😀 I guess we’re not as far ahead in the food movements.

      Reply

    • Thank you Alice!! I just love cute things 😉 Tapioca bubbles taste like jelly to me. If you can find some Asian stores, they might have it in your country!

      Reply

  22. Oooh. I also want to try this one. My milk tea will never be the same with this. <3

    I love your works and these panda bears are just so kawaii. I can't wait to try mine. A new fan here and followed your accounts. Yuki's Kitchen is just so cuteness overload. Btw, I also used your photo for one of my blog covers. Will be crediting you and back link to your blog. If it's not okay I can take it down.

    More powers and thank you so much. <3 <3 <3

    Spices + Everything Nice | http://www.ajeinomoto.com

    Reply

  23. I’ve just finishing working on these adorable “guys.” They are extremely lovely but also super difficult to be made haha. We have boba milktea everywhere in Taiwan. And these days I also found someone selling panda boba which look like just like these at a really high price. So I glad that I can make them myself at home. And I believe these boba I made by myself are much more healthier than those they sell in shops.
    You’re such a genius to create this recipe!!!! I’ll keep following your website! Thank you so much<3<3

    Reply

    • Hi Sandy! I just saw this message and I’m so happy to know that you actually tried!! WOW! Did you take pictures? I know so many my readers love this recipe but no one has really tried yet, haha!! Homemade food is always a lot more healthier than store-bought ones. Let’s keep eating good stuff together, Sandy! xx

      Reply

  27. I went to UCSD too…and my gosh do I miss Convoy! I spent so much time (and money) at the Sam Woo in the 99 Ranch Market =) .

    I’m thinking about making this and was wondering how strongly the tofu taste is; and does the tofu change the consistency a lot when compared to the boba that we buy at the stores and boil at home?

    Reply

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