Homemade Bubur Cha Cha (Inspired by The Dragon Playground)
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: bubur cha cha, tapioca cubes in coconut soup, tapioca jelly
Prep Time: 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 50 minutesminutes
Total Time: 1 hourhour
Servings: 4
Calories: 387kcal
Author: Bee Leng
Bubur Cha Cha (or bobo cha cha) is a decadent dessert that is characterised by colourful tapioca jelly floating in a sea of creamy coconut soup. Read on to find out how to make this quick and easy dessert!
Peel and slice the pumpkin and yam lengthwise into 2cm thick slices. Steam the pumpkin and yam for about 20 minutes. Remove the pumpkin earlier because it takes less time to cook. It is important not to overcook the pumpkin and yam as they will turn mushy.
Cut the pumpkin and yam into 2cm cubes.
Prepare the Tapioca Jelly
Pour the boiling water over the tapioca starch and quickly mix it.
Let the dough cool slightly. Carefully knead the hot mixture quickly until it forms a smooth and pliable dough.
Divide the dough into 3 portions. Use food colouring to dye one portion blue, one red and leave the last white. Knead until the dough is uniformly coloured.
Roll the dough into a long strip, Shape and cut it into 1cm cubes. Sprinkle some tapioca starch over the cut pieces to prevent them from sticking to one another.
Shake off excess flour. Place the tapioca cubes into a pot of boiling water and cook for 5 mins until they float to the surface and become translucent. Transfer the tapioca cubes into a bowl of ice water.
Prepare the Coconut Soup
Add the pandan leaves, sugar and water into a pot and boil for about 10 mins. Discard the pandan leaves, lower the heat and add in the coconut cream and salt. Simmer for 10 mins at medium-low heat without covering the pot.
Video
Notes
COOKING TIPS
Preparing the pumpkin and yam
Put on gloves when cutting yam because your hands might get itchy from the sap of the yam. (For that matter, this applies to the handling of Wai San and Niu Pang, both of which belong to the yam family.)
Ensure there is sufficient water for steaming. A good rule of thumb is to add water in the wok until it is level with the top of the steaming rack.
Do not over-steam the pumpkin and yam or else they will disintegrate and be difficult to handle.
Preparing the tapioca jelly
Wear gloves when colouring the dough so that your hands will not get stained.
Do not add too much colouring to the tapioca dough. Otherwise, the colour will get into the coconut milk and it will be stained with red, blue and green colouring.
Cut the tapioca dough uniformly for easy cooking.
Leave the cooked tapioca jelly in the ice water until ready to serve. Otherwise, they will stick together.
Preparing the Coconut Soup
Do not cover the pot and do not boil the mixture until it bubbles vigorously once the coconut cream is added. Otherwise, the coconut cream will split and curdle.
Add a little salt to the coconut soup to make the dessert less 'jelak' ie a feeling of bloatedness and 'fullness'.
Put the ingredients and the coconut milk in the fridge separately if you prefer to have it chilled. Refrigerate only when they are completely cooled down.
STORAGE TIPS
You can make the tapioca dough in bulk, cut it up and freeze it in a ziplock bag.
If your cooked tapioca jelly has hardened, you can boil it again until it becomes translucent.