Dragon Fruit Boba Tea Looks As Cool As It Sounds
There's just something delightfully fun about grabbing a colorful, bubbly boba tea and slurping up the chewy pearls one by one. Ever since the specialty tea made its way to the States from Taiwan in the 80's, boba shops have been "popping" up everywhere. With so many popular flavors and sweet combinations to try, fans of the delicious dessert drink can mix and match until they've found their perfectly concocted favorite. Whether you prefer it made syrupy sweet or infused with fresh fruits, there are a lot of tasty options to love. Introduce vibrantly colored fruits like dragon fruit into the mix, and you can achieve melty hues of boba tea that look like a cup of confectionary art.
Behind the popular TikTok account, CookingBomb, is season 10 Master Chef contestant, Vivian Aronson. The successful Chinese chef loves taking her dragon fruit boba tea to the next level, and it's a rather squishy approach. Instead of simply blending the dragon fruit's essence into the drink itself, we see her stretching a handful of pink gelatinous slime, as she prepares it to be transformed into handmade boba marbles. If you aren't too keen on the texture of tapioca pearls, then using fresh fruit instead can be a game changer. All you need to make them is a bit of sugar, some agar powder to use as a thickening agent, and the spiny dragon fruit itself. Though, we imagine you might be able to create boba pearls with other varieties of fruit using this recipe, too.
Squish it, sprinkle it, and cook until bubbly
In her step-by-step TikTok tutorial, the excited chef brings in her daughter to help make the boba magic happen. First, start off with two dragon fruits and pulverize them. Aronson straight-up grabs a handful and gets to squishing. Dragon fruit with red flesh has the potential to stain skin, so you'll want to wear gloves as you do this. Squeeze it or lightly blend it — however you get there, you'll be mixing in two tablespoons of sugar and cooking it on the stovetop until it starts to bubble. Here's where the chewiness factor comes in with the use of agar powder — a ¾ cup of it, to be exact. Mix it quickly and it should turn into the most unnatural-looking dough that has ever graced your kitchen. Don't worry, it's perfect.
Now that you've given your dragon fruit a malleable texture, the fun part can begin. Roll it into a noodle-like shape before chopping into bite-sized pieces and rolling each one into a tiny ball. You'll want to put them in boiling water briefly before transferring them into cold water to rinse them thoroughly. This particular boba-loving mom has chosen blue syrup and sparkling water as her two main ingredients to create this refreshing boba recipe, but feel free to experiment with what flavors work best for you. Dump your handcrafted dragon fruit orbs into the drink, watch the colors blend, and enjoy!