Disclosure: This recipe is proudly sponsored by FairPrice.
STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
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!
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In a previous video, I shared how to make tapioca jelly from scratch, and many people were amazed at how simple it was to make their favourite treat at home!
To celebrate Singapore’s birthday this year, we have partnered with FairPrice to reimagine dishes well-loved by Singaporeans in the form of food art inspired by national icons.
Today, I will be channelling my inner artist to recreate the Toa Payoh Dragon Playground using my popular bubur cha cha recipe whilst using pumpkin instead of the traditional sweet potato.
Don’t forget to check out our other posts where we created the Singapore Flyer with Satay, the Changi Airport Skyline with Teriyaki Chicken and Singa the Lion with Chicken Karaage!
Before we begin, make a trip down to your favourite FairPrice outlet to pick up the ingredients. Then download and print out our free Dragon Playground Template to follow along the decorating process!
TRICK OF THE TRADE
- The trickiest part of the recipe is making the tapioca jelly.
- Firstly, it is critical that you use boiling hot water. This will semi-cook the tapioca starch so that it formed a pliable dough, rather than a starch mixture.
- Secondly, you should ensure that the proportion of water to tapioca starch is correct.
- To make the coconut soup, ensure that you use coconut cream (santan), not coconut milk. This will provide a thicker and creamier base due to the higher fat content.
- If you wish, you can make freshly squeezed coconut cream from scratch using my recipe here.
INGREDIENTS (serves 4)
- 300g pumpkin, cut lengthwise into 2cm thick slices
- 200g Thai yam, cut lengthwise into 2cm thick slices
Tapioca Jelly
- 75ml boiling water
- 100g tapioca starch, sifted
- ⅛ tsp blue food colouring
- ¼ tsp red food colouring
Coconut Soup
- 8 pandan leaves, tied into a knot
- 65g sugar
- 400ml water
- 200ml UHT coconut cream (santan)
- ¼ tsp salt
HOW TO MAKE BUBUR CHA CHA
PREPARE THE PUMPKIN AND YAM
- 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.
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 turn 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.
DECORATING
- Using the template as a guide, cut the pumpkin in the shape of the dragon playground and the yam to form the dragon’s eye and tiles.
- Arrange the dragon-shaped pumpkin with the blue tapioca jelly and 1cm yam cubes as tiles according to the Dragon Playground Template.
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.
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS
- Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
- Fish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Gluten-Free: No modifications needed.
- Nut-Free: No modifications needed.
- Shellfish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Vegan: No modifications needed.
- Vegetarian: No modifications needed
TRIED THIS RECIPE?
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Homemade Bubur Cha Cha (Inspired by The Dragon Playground)
Ingredients
- 300 g Pumpkin cut lengthwise into 2cm thick slices
- 200 g Thai Yam cut lengthwise into 2cm thick slices
Tapioca Jelly
- 75 ml Boiling Water
- 100 g Tapioca Starch sifted
- ⅛ tsp Blue Food Colouring
- ¼ tsp Red Food Colouring
Coconut Soup
- 8 Pandan Leaves tied into a knot
- 65 g Sugar
- 400 ml Water
- 200 ml Coconut Cream (santan)
- ¼ tsp Salt
Instructions
Prepare the Pumpkin and Yam
- 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.
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.
I was going to make Bubor Chia Chia for the family esp we had so much jelly and agar during the Christmas gatherings. I just asked for a good bubor Chia cha and your blog came on. I will be trying your recipe on New Year eve dinner for the extended family.
Hi Margaret, so sorry for the delayed reply, and thanks so much for your comment! Did you manage to succeed with the Bubur Cha Cha recipe? Please let us know how it went 🙂 We can also help you to troubleshoot if neccessary if you email us a photo of your creation 🙂
Hi there,
I made the tapioca jelly according to your recipe,but I find that there is still a very strong starch taste after boiling it for 10m.
I even made smaller pieces to see if it would be less starchy, but it still tastes like it’s raw.
I followed your recipe to the t, so I’m not sure where I went wrong?
Dear Samantha, The water must be bubbling hot when adding to the flour. Stir and mix immediately. Once it’s incorporated, use your hand to knead it. The hot water is to semi-cook the flour before kneading. Do not overcoat the pearls with flour. In a pot, bring the water to a boil and throw in the pearls ( be careful the hot water may overflow) and give it a stir. Boil until they float up and cook for a little longer. Then plunge into ice-water. Another reason could be that the water to boil the pearls is insufficient. Once the… Read more »