STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE

Bubur Cha Cha (or bobo cha cha) is a coconut-based Nyonya dessert which is easily identified by the colourful tapioca cubes, the signature of this dish. In the past, the original ingredients simply comprised of sweet potatoes, taro (or yam) and colourful tapioca cubes with coconut milk as the soup base. Nowadays, there are many variations, with other ingredients like sago and banana added to it. As for myself, I prefer the original and more simplistic version from my childhood.

Last Saturday, I made the original version for the family. Everything was done from scratch, including hand squeezing the coconut milk! Everyone gave their thumbs up for the yummy authentic dessert, especially my grandchildren. I think many ‘trendier’ versions of store-bought bubur cha cha cannot compare to the authentic flavour of home-made bubur chacha, where the ingredients are freshly made on the spot!

TRICK OF THE TRADE

The most complex part of the recipe is the making of the tapioca cubes. The two most important things to ensure success are…

1. You must use boiling hot water

2. Ensure the proportion of water to flour is correct.

As for the soup, using fresh coconut milk does make it creamier and adds a natural sweetness. It’s not necessary to use fresh coconut milk, so I have shown you how to make this using good quality packaged coconut milk in my recipe, but if you still prefer making everything from scratch, go to the ‘Top Tips’ section for more info.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DISH

• It’s a traditional Nyonya dessert that all members of the family would love!
• The dessert tastes fresh and the smell of the coconut is especially fragrant because everything is made from scratch.

HOW TO MAKE BUBUR CHA CHA FROM SCRATCH? 

Wash the pandan leaves. Fold them and tie them into a knot.

Scrub and peel off the skin of the sweet potatoes and the yam. Cut the sweet potatoes and yam into cubes. Place the sweet potatoes and the yam on a steaming plate, and start to steam immediately until soft.

Sieve 100 gm of tapioca flour in a bowl. Slowly add 75 ml of hot boiling water to it, using a pair of chopstick to stir it until it becomes lumpy. Once cool, knead the mixture until it forms a smooth dough.

Divide the dough into 3 portions. Add 3 drops of red, blue and green coloring to the 3 portions of dough respectively. Knead the three sets of dough until the colour is uniformly incorporated.

Put some tapioca flour on a board and a knife. Roll the dough into a long strip, then cut it into 1 cm lengths. Sprinkle some tapioca flour over the cut pieces to prevent them from sticking to one another.

After preparing the tapioca dough cubes, put the cubes into a separate pot of boiling water. Continue to boil until the tapioca cubes float up or turn translucent. 

Transfer the tapioca cubes into a bowl of water to soak, and set aside for later use.

Meanwhile, add water, sugar and pandan leaves into a big pot and bring to a boil until the sugar dissolves. Remove and discard the pandan leaves.

Lower the heat and add in the coconut milk and salt, then let it simmer. Do not let it boil till it bubbles vigorously and do not cover the pot. Then turn off the heat. 

Put the sweet potatoes, yam and cooked tapioca jelly into individual bowls. Add coconut soup and serve.

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

WATCH OUR VIDEO FOR HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE!

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Bubur Cha Cha (Asian Coconut Milk Dessert with Tapioca Jelly)

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: bubur cha cha, nyonya dessert, tapioca cubes in coconut soup, Asian Coconut Milk Dessert with Tapioca Jelly

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 8

Calories: 382 kcal

Author: Bee Leng

This popular Nyonya dessert is a decadent combination of steamed sweet potato and taro, swimming in fresh coconut milk and topped with colourful tapioca jelly cubes. Simply divine!

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Ingredients

• 500 g Orange Sweet Potatoes Measurement before cutting
• 400 g Yam (Taro) Measurement before cutting

Tapioca Jelly

• 100 g Tapioca Flour
• 75 ml Hot Boiling Water
• 3 drops Red Coloring
• 3 drops Green Coloring
• 3 drops Blue Coloring

Coconut Soup

• 400 ml Coconut Cream (Santan) Recommend to use either Kara or Ayam Brand; 400 ml equivalent to 2 small packets
• 700 ml Water
• 8-10 Pandan Leaves
• 130 g Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Salt

Instructions

PREPARATION METHOD

1. Wash the pandan leaves. Fold them and tie them into a knot.

2. Scrub and peel off the skin of the sweet potatoes and the yam.

3. Cut the sweet potatoes and yam into 2 cm cubes.

4. Place the sweet potatoes and the yam on a steaming plate, and start to steam straightaway. (See step 1 of Cooking Method)

5. Sieve 100 gm of tapioca flour in a bowl. Slowly add 75 ml of hot boiling water to it, using a pair of chopstick to stir it until it becomes lumpy. 

6. Once it is cooled, use your hand to knead the mixture until it is smooth and forms a dough. 

7. Divide the dough into 3 portions. Dab 3 drops of red, blue and green coloring with a chopstick to the 3 portions of dough respectively. Make sure you wipe the chopstick before dipping it into the next color. 

8. Knead the three sets of colored dough until the color is well incorporated to form a uniformly coloured dough. 

9. Put some tapioca flour on a board and a knife. Roll the dough into a long strip with your palm, and cut it into 1 cm lengths. Sprinkle some tapioca flour over the cut pieces to prevent them from sticking to one another. Repeat the process until all the dough is done.

COOKING METHOD

1. In a wok, add water to the same level as the steaming stand and bring it to a boil. Place the tray of sweet potatoes and yam to steam immediately. Steam for about 20 mins until they are soft.

2. After preparing the tapioca dough cubes, put the cubes into a separate pot of boiling water. Continue to boil for about 5 mins until the tapioca cubes float up or turn translucent.

3. Transfer the tapioca cubes into a bowl of water to soak, and set aside for later use.

4. Meanwhile, add 700 ml of water, 130 gm of sugar and pandan leaves into a big pot and bring to a boil for about 15 mins until the sugar dissolves. 

5. Lower the heat and add in the coconut milk and salt, then let it simmer for 10 minutes. Do not let it boil till it bubbles vigorously and do not cover the pot. Then turn off the heat. Remove and discard the pandan leaves.

6. Put the sweet potatoes, yam and cooked tapioca jelly into individual bowls. Add coconut soup and serve.

Recipe Video

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Top Tips

MARKETING TIPS

1. Do not use purple sweet potatoes for the color will make the coconut soup turn purplish.
2. Do not buy the Vietnamese sweet potatoes for they are rather bland in taste.

COOKING TIPS

1. Do not cover the pot and do not boil the mixture once the packet of coconut milk is added, until it bubbles vigorously. Otherwise the coconut milk will curdle and it will look unpresentable.
2. 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.
3. Add a little salt to the coconut milk to make the dessert less 'jelak' ie a feeling of bloatedness and 'fullness'.
4. Place the sweet potatoes in a basin of ice-water to prevent them from turning black, if you are not planning to cook them right away.

HOW TO PREPARE SWEET POTATOES AND YAM

1. Put the sweet potatoes into a basin of iced water after cutting them to prevent them from turning black.
2. Put on your gloves when cutting yam because your hand will get itchy from the sap of the yam. (For that matter, this applies to the handling of Wai San and Niu Pang which belong to the yam family)
3. Do not over-steam the sweet potatoes and yam or else they will disintegrate and be difficult to handle.

HOW TO PREPARE AND COOK TAPIOCA CUBES

1. Do not add too much coloring to the tapioca dough. Otherwise, the color will get into the coconut milk and it will be stained with red, blue and green coloring.
2. Make the tapioca dough small for easy cooking.
3. Leave the cooked tapioca jelly in the water until ready to serve. Otherwise, they will stick together in one lump.
4. Wear gloves when coloring the dough so that your hand will not get stained.

HOW TO MAKE COCONUT MILK FROM SCRATCH

For a better and creamier flavour, it is best to use fresh coconut milk for the coconut soup. Here how to make coconut milk from scratch.

1. Get milk from 1 freshly grated coconut which you can buy from the wet market. It will add an additional 5-10 minutes to the recipe total time.
2. Add 100 ml of warm water to the coconut to extract the 1st round of coconut milk. Give it a few squeezes before extracting the milk through a sieve over a bowl to collect the coconut milk. The 1st round of coconut milk is called the santan or coconut cream which is thicker and has a higher fat content.
3. For the 2nd round of milk, add 1 litre of boiled cool water to the coconut and squeeze it a few times with your hands before extracting the milk into another bowl. Sieve the 2nd round of coconut milk through a sieve into a pot.
4. Add 8-10 pandan leaves tied into a knot, 1/4 tsp of salt and 80 ml sugar to it and slowly simmer over medium heat for about 10-15 mins until it starts to bubble but not boiling vigorously. The sugar amount is reduced because santan is sweeter than packaged coconut milk.
5. Add in the santan and continue to simmer for about 5 mins.
6. Don't cover the pot and watch closely while cooking the coconut milk lest it overboils and curdles.
7. Remove the pandan leaves and turn off the heat and ready to serve.