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!

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.
    

    The water must be boiling hot!

• • 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

Homemade Bubur Cha Cha Ingredients

HOW TO MAKE BUBUR CHA CHA

PREPARE THE PUMPKIN AND YAM

1. 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.
   

   Take out the pumpkin before the yam due to its shorter cooking time.

PREPARE THE TAPIOCA JELLY

1. Pour the boiling water over the tapioca starch and quickly mix it.
2. Let the dough cool slightly. Carefully knead the hot mixture quickly until it forms a smooth and pliable dough.
   

   Knead until the dough becomes smooth and pliable.

3. 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.

   

   Divide the tapioca dough into three.

   

   Use a chopstick to colour the dough.

   

   Coloured tapioca dough

   
   
4. 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.

   

   Roll the tapioca dough into a long strip.

   

   Cut the dough into 1cm cubes.

   
   
5. 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.

   

   Coat the tapioca cubes in starch to prevent them from sticking.

   

   When the tapioca jelly float, they are cooked.

   
   

PREPARE THE COCONUT SOUP

1. 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.

   

   Tie the pandan leaves in a knot.

   

   Making the sugar syrup.

   
   

DECORATING

1. 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.
   

   Cut the pumpkin according to the template.

2. Arrange the dragon-shaped pumpkin with the blue tapioca jelly and 1cm yam cubes as tiles according to the Dragon Playground Template.
   

   Homemade Bubur Cha Cha (Inspired by The Dragon Playground)

STORAGE TIPS

1. You can make the tapioca dough in bulk, cut it up and freeze it in a ziplock bag.
2. 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

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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 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

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!

Print Recipe

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.

Video

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Notes

COOKING TIPS

Preparing the pumpkin and yam

1. 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.)
2. 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.
3. Do not over-steam the pumpkin and yam or else they will disintegrate and be difficult to handle.

Preparing the tapioca jelly

1. Wear gloves when colouring the dough so that your hands will not get stained.
2. 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.
3. Cut the tapioca dough uniformly for easy cooking.
4. Leave the cooked tapioca jelly in the ice water until ready to serve. Otherwise, they will stick together.

Preparing the Coconut Soup

1. 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.
2. Add a little salt to the coconut soup to make the dessert less 'jelak' ie a feeling of bloatedness and 'fullness'.
3. 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

1. You can make the tapioca dough in bulk, cut it up and freeze it in a ziplock bag.
2. If your cooked tapioca jelly has hardened, you can boil it again until it becomes translucent.

Nutrition

Calories: 387kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 713mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 6423IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg