私の初めてのタピオカミルクティー体験は、サンディエゴのUCSDに留学した時でした。コンボイストリートにあるタピオカエクスプレス(通称タペックス)というカフェは、UCSDの学生が放課後に立ち寄るオシャレなたまり場スポット。教科書がたくさん入ったリュックサックをしょいながら、アジア系アメリカンの学生たちにまぎれて列に並んだのを覚えています。アメリカではタピオカの黒いつぶつぶを「ボバ」といいます。そしてアジア系アメリカ人はボバが大好き！ 初めてのタペックスでのボバ体験以来、私も彼らと同じくボバの大ファンになってしまいました♥︎
ボバティーはアジアでは「バブルティー」として知られています。私がシンガポールに引っ越したばかりの頃、私のアメリカナイズされた言い方で大恥をかいてしまったことがあります…。アメリカでボバを頼むときのように普通にオーダーしようと思い、私はこう言いました：
“Can I have a milk tea with boba?”(ミルクティーをボバ付きでお願いします)
キャッシャーの女の子は不思議そうに私を見つめるだけ。英語わかんないのかしら？と思ってミルクティーの写真がのっているメニューを指差し、コレが欲しいのとジェスチャーで表現。そしたらやっと理解してもらえて、無事にボバティーをオーダーできたました。この話を私のシンガポール人の友達に話したら、最初彼は私が冗談を言っているんだと思って、まともに聞いてない様子。詳細を説明をするにつれて気がついたのは、私のこの会話自体が彼をぎこちなくさせているっていう事。彼の顔が恥ずかしそうに赤くなり始めた頃、「あ、私何かしちゃったんだな」と何となく気がつきました。彼が教えてくれたのはこれ：
「ボバ」は中国語のスラングで「でっかいおっぱい」という意味。アメリカでだけタピオカボールをボバと呼んでいて、理由はボバの容姿が「でっかいおっぱい」みたいに見えるからだそうです。
そういうことか…。私、シンガポールのカフェで、でっかいおっぱい付きのミルクティーくださいって頼んでたって事です。キャッシャーの女の子が不思議そうに見つめてきたあの訳がやっとわかりました。もしアジアでボバティー頼むとき、「バブルティー」か「タピオカパール」って言ってオーダーしましょう。自分の無知で現地の人に迷惑かけるのって、本当に恥ずかしいです！！(笑)
アジアでの忘れがたいボバ経験を活かすため、私なりにも忘れがたいボバを作ってみようと思いました。世間に知られているボバは、黒いタピオカのつぶつぶ。でももしボバの形を変えられたらどうなるんだろう？ もし自分でボバショップをオープンするなら、どんなボバがいいだろう？
遠い目で少し考えてみました。結論は、「パンダ型のボバがいい」です。
こうして今日のレシピが出来上がりました。
ちょっと考えてみてください。カフェに行ったとき、この二つのオーダーで、どちらのほうが魅力的ですか？
1) ミルクティー、ボバ付きでください。
2) ミルクティー、パンダボバ付きでください。
- ・タピオカフラワー 50g
- ・絹豆腐 50g
- ・ココアパウダー 大さじ2杯
- ・お好みの紅茶
- ・ミルク (私はアーモンドミルク"を使用 ) 少々
.2番目、そうオーダーするだけで幸せな気持ちになります…。どうしてここまでパンダって魅力的なんでしょう。もしあなたも私の様にパンダフェチなら、このパンダボバ是非試してみてください！ 難しそうに見えますが、実はこれ結構単純です。
1: ボバの材料を混ぜる。固まりがスムースになるまで、手を使って捏ねます。もし具がドライすぎたら、豆腐を少しずつ加えてみましょう。(ドライすぎると、あとでパンダのパーツを作るときにくっつきにくくなっちゃうんです。)
2: ボバを２種類に分ける。作った白玉のもとから、1/4分を分け、それにココアパウダーを混ぜましょう。実際お湯で茹でるとき色は今よりも濃くなるので、心配になって量より多めのココアパウダーを入れなくても大丈夫ですよ。
3: パンダ制作開始！パンダの大きさが、ボバと同じくらいの大きさになるように作りましょう。大きすぎると、ストローに入らなくなって吸いにくくなってしまいます！ パーツをくっつけるとき、ボバがドライすぎない様にしましょう。茹でている間に耳や目がとれちゃう事がよくあるので、水分補給を怠らないように！ 耳なしパンダなんて可哀想すぎです。
4: パンダの表情作り。これがパーツをつけ終わった後のパンダボバ。一つ一つのパンダが違う顔をしているところが私のツボです！ 手作り料理の素晴らしさがここにあります☆
パンダだらけ！
5: パンダを茹でる。弱火で沸騰しているお湯のなかに、ゆーっくりとパンダを落としていきましょう。茹で上がりのサインは、パンダが浮かんできたときです。それまで大体５分ほどかかります。
6: 浮かんできたら回収し、水を切る。パンダがいっぱい！ 完成までもうすぐ…♥︎
7: お好きなミルクティーの中に入れて、完成！パンダのタピオカミルクティーが遂に完成です！
みんなかわいいんですけど、この写真ラッシュアワーの京王線状態です。ぎゅうぎゅうパンダ、通勤中！
ボバストローで吸い上がったパンダを見ていると、不思議な気持ちになります…。苦労して作った私のパンダさん達が吸われていきます…。さようなら、パンダさん…、
手作りボバは、作ったその日に食べる事をオススメします。水を入れた入れものの中で保管したら、２〜３日はもちますが、味は当日が一番ムチムチしてて美味しいですよ。
ボバはサンディエゴでの学生時代を思い出させてくれます♥︎ 放課後のあの通常フレーズ、「ボバにいかない？」って言って友達とつるんでたあのころが懐かしいです。学生時代の想い出は永遠のものです…♥︎
いまはアジアに住んでいるため、「ボバ」って言葉自体も使わなくなったなぁ。いつかアメリカに戻るときは、タペックスと提供して新しいボバショップを作るのが夢です！(叶うといいなぁ！)
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.
Hello! Thanks for such a kind message!
The consistency was quite similar to the store bought tapioca pearls. But handmade tapioca can harden next day, so I recommend eating fresh on the same day 🙂 I’m also scared of eating out because of the crazy ingredients! Better to know how to cook 🙂
There are no words to describe how bocuoidas this is.
Really?! Thank you so much Delly!
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
Oh, haha!! Peso and Petto sure sound similar! I’m glad I’m not alone on this one 😀 Thanks for teaching me new Italian words 😉
Oh. My. God. You are a genius!! This is seriously so cute, I’m definitely trying this out at home. Maybe Rilakkuma boba? 🙂
Please do! And take pics 😉
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)
Try asking no sugar! I always do. 😀
O
M
G
These are crazy cute!
These are ADORABLE!
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!
“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
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!
Oh so nice to hear that!! Thank you 🙂 Please come back again, I make crazy food quite often! 😀 All healthy too!
OMG! I just saw this on Tastespotting and I am so in love!! This is the cutest idea I’ve ever seen!
Oh my goodness. This is the cutest thing in all the lands. One of my friends is obsessed with pandas and I’m gonna have to share this with her so she can make her own panda boba!!
Please do! And take some photos 😀 Panda boba makes everyone smile 😉
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.
These are just adorable! 🙂
omg super cute!
question: why tofu? is there something else i can add without using tofu or can i just add water?
Hello! I use tofu simply to add more texture. If you don’t have tofu, you can use water instead 🙂
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!
Woops! I just read the above comment. So III just use water instead. Thankz! Ive got to try the way you do Nutella…
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
Would it be possible to make lots of panda boba and freeze them?
Hello Henry!
It probably won’t taste as good as the fresh ones, but you can freeze the pandas and boil them later again 🙂
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?
Yes! Same amount as the Tofu 🙂
This is too cute!
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. 🙂
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.
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!
But we also named boba milk tea in Taiwan. It’s not an offensive word here.
Hi Yuan! Really? My Singaporean friend said they don’t call it “boba” much there 😛
Hi Yuki, the panda are awesome!!
I would like to know how long can I keep the panda if I haven’t boil them?
Hello Susan!
I say 3~5 days. But since it’s homemade, it won’t taste as good anymore if you wait more than 3 days! I hope you try it! xx
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
Hi again Jeini! Of course it’s ok 🙂
Thanks again for saying such a nice thing to me. xx Good luck with your cooking! 🙂
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
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
i really love this! its the cutest boba ever!!!!!!!!!
Awwww Melody, you are so sweet! Thank you!
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Xie xie!
Oh god that looks amazing ! I’ll try it someday !
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?
How can i store these cute pearls? And how long do they last when kept right?
Hello! Usually, I put them in water, seal the container and keep them in the fridge for 2~3 days. I don’t recommend keeping them longer than that!