Mango Coconut Tapioca dessert

Have you ever tried those stands/kiosks in the mall or somewhere else that are selling the fruity, tea or coffee drinks with huge tapioca balls in the bottom of the cup and a big fat straw to suck them up with? Usually called Bubble Tea or Boba Drink, here is a picture:

There is a little shop selling these drinks now at the mall near us (LaLa Port at Minami Funabashi), and we got some a couple weeks ago. That got me thinking about tapioca, even though, as a kid, tapioca repulsed me, or perhaps it was just tapioca rice pudding I didn't care for.

So, as usual, missing tropical flavors while in Japan has lead me to come up with another recipe. This one is a dessert using mango and coconut with small tapioca pearls. If I could have found the huge tapioca balls like in the photo above at the supermarket here in Japan, I would have made this dessert with those, but just finding regular small tapioca pearls here was a bit of a hunt, finally found some at the 3rd supermarket I tried. If I ever do find the huge ones, I will try this again with them, I think it would turn out to be even more 'fun'.

So, here is my recipe. Hope you enjoy if you try it.

Mango Coconut Tapioca Pearl dessert

1/2 c Tapioca, dry
2 cups Water
2 1/2 teaspoons Somersweet (or to taste) or other sweetener which equals approx. 1/4 c. sugar
4 oz/150 grams canned Evaporated Milk (or if using Sweetened Condensed Milk, reduce sweetener above to taste)
1.5 lb fresh Mango (or frozen chunks)
1/8 teaspoon Coconut extract/flavor
1/4 c Shredded Coconut (optional)
Mint leaf (optional)

Soak the tapioca pearls in 1/2 cup of the water for 30 minutes. Cut the Mango into large cubes/chunks or if using frozen Mango, defrost completely. Place into a blender or food processor and process VERY LIGHTLY to a chunky sauce consistency.

Boil the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water. When it begins to boil, add the tapioca pearls, including the water they were soaking in. Stir and cook for 10 minutes or until the tapioca becomes translucent. Turn off the heat and add the sweetener and milk. Cool to room temperature. Add the mango, coconut extract and shredded coconut. Pour into an attractive serving dish or into individual serving dishes, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Top with fresh mint leaf when serving if desired.

Yummy!