I love tapioca. I love its coy starchy ways, the way it obligingly adopts flavours, and all the happy memories I associate with tapioca. It made bleak, rained out days bearable when sailing up the west coast, it is an unforgettable part of my childhood, and recently, it was the sweet end to hot pot night at Sharon and Thom's.
Tapioca is commercially sold in the form of pearls, just like its counterpart, sago. Sago comes from the pith of the sago palm stems and tapioca comes from the cassava root. They can be interchangeably used in many dishes that include this one.
The secret weapon that makes this dish? That black line art in the bowl is gula melaka. Tamils call it karruppatti. This sugar comes in dark blocks and is from the palm tree. Gula melaka has a dark caramel taste and a distinctive aroma. The threesome of tapioca/sago, coconut milk and gula melaka has its origins in Peranakan (Chinese-Malay) culinary genius. It's a beautiful thing.
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