Thai Iced Tea With Boba (Thai Bubble Tea)

Some things just really brighten up my day. Bubble tea's one of them (aka boba tea, aka pearl tea). They are such a fun drink, and frankly, the little black pearls serves as a big influence. They are highly overpriced, I'd say. But they are super easy to make, so let's make some Thai Bubble Tea together.

Base:    Thai Tea
              Boba (tapioca pearls)
Flavor: Condensed milk
             Sugar (optional)
Heat:    Boil

1. Boil water and seep Thai tea leaves/bags
- Tip: just like any other type of iced tea, you will want to prepare a stronger brewing.

2. Let tea cool
- Tip: prepare step 1 ahead of time.

3. Cook tapioca pearls
- Refer to package instructions as a guide. Usually takes 5+ minutes to cook.

4. Drain tapioca pearls
- Tip: add sugar to the tapioca pearls, mix, and let cool.
- Tapioca pearls are bland. When sipped with sweetened tea concurrently, the sweetness in the tea will be undeniable, but it does not permeate into the pearls. By adding a little sugar to the pearls after cooking it in water, the sugar will dissolve into the pearls and give them a little lift in flavor-- not overpowering that they become candy-like, but subtle and just right.

5. Assemble iced tea
- Add tapioca pearls into glass of tea (amount contingent upon your liking).
- Add ice.
- Sweeten with condensed milk, 2-3 tbsp. more of less depending on your desired level of sweetness.
- Tip: if you want to avoid a condensed-milk heavy drink, add less condensed milk and incorporate sugar to the mixture.

6. Serve with a BIG boba appropriate straw for the full bubble tea experience!
- Oh yea, there's definitely a difference. My two-year-old nephew loves boba drinks. He loves catching boba in the big straws, and he gets so excited when he sips one in his mouth. He pauses, points to the his mouth and says "BOBA!" Fun stuff.

* Notes: this recipe is so forgiving, you can easily change any amount of the ingredients to adjust to your personal preferences. And as always, I encourage you to do so. Enjoy, and make sure you have fun in your kitchen!

Watch a demo of this recipe and join me in my kitchen where everything is served with love.

♥ Yen

Shrimp Fried Rice

Eggs are a sample in my fridge. I like to keep frozen peas and frozen shrimp on hand. Together, I can make shrimp fried rice on days when I have extra rice, or I want to make a easy and delicious meal, or just when I crave shrimp fried rice! It's a great way of always having a fall-back meal when grocery shopping is needed, but cannot be completed. Whenever I make shrimp fried rice as an impromptu meal, I may not always have onions available; although onions add more flavor, it tastes fine without it!

Base:     1/2 lb. shrimp, thawed, peeled, and deveined
               Rice (cook 1 1/2 cups rice)
Flavor:   1/4 onion, diced
               2 large eggs, whisked
               1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
               Salt, pepper, and soy sauce to taste
               ~ 4 tbsp. oil, or as needed
Heat:     Stir Fry

1. Cook shrimp until 90% through in toaster oven
- Benefit: saves time. While the shrimp is cooking itself, work on the other stuff.

2. Saute onions in wok (or big frying pan) with ~ 3 tbsp. oil
- Medium-ish heat for ~ 1 minute is ideal.

3. Add rice
- Tip: increase heat by a notch or two to welcome the cold/room temperature rice.
- Tip: break up big clumps of rice with spatula to prevent big chucks of rice from sticking together.
- Stir fry for ~ 1-2 minutes, add oil if necessary.

4. Pour eggs into rice and stir!
- Tip: stir fry constantly if you want the eggs well incorporated into each grain of rice and achieve that "golden-rice" look.
- Stir fry until eggs are well incorporated, add oil as neccesary.

5. Add peas and shrimp
- How convenient! The shrimp is ready when everything else is ready for the shrimp! Thumbs up to multitasking :)

6. Flavor with soy sauce, salt, and pepper
- More soy sauce and salt if you like it salty; less if you don't want to be friends with sodium.
- Tip: if you are trying to achieve that "golden-rice" look, compensate extra salt for less soy sauce, as the dark color of soy sauce deters a golden finished look.
- Stir fry until flavors are all incorporated, and the peas and shrimp are cooked through.

- Optional: garnish with Sriracha (Asian hot sauce).

- Tip: if portion control is a virtue of yours, and you have leftovers for the next day, add a small splash of water over the rice before reheating. The fried rice gradually looses moisture and will become more dry the next day. Adding a small splash of water while reheating will ensure the same fresh taste as it was yesterday.

* Notes: avoid using soggy or even slightly soggy rice (it will get mushier and stickier as you stir fry). With that said, it's best to use rice cooked with just enough water (not perfect, just not remotely soggy). Left over rice is a good option, and a good way to make use of it. Freshly cooked rice is also a good option, but make sure that it has been cooled down before stir frying. Because life's not always perfect, if the rice that you are using happens to be slightly soggy, use a little extra oil while stir frying, and aim to stir fry for a shorter amount of time.

As always, I encourage you to change any part(s) of this recipe to reflect your personal perferences. The amount of shrimp I use is signficantly more generous compared to the amount given when you order out-- you may add more or less to satisfy your liking. If you don't like or don't have onions, substitute a clove of minced garlic, or omit the onions and/or garlic! Just don't deviate too much-- neglecting to thaw the frozen peas will result in a hot fried rice dish with cold peas! Whatever you do, make sure you have fun in the kitchen!

Watch a demo of this recipe and join me in my kitchen where everthing is served with love.

♥ Yen