Nyob Zoo!
Today, I’ll be showing you all the top 3 most asked question in my naab vaam video and that was “What are those purple swirly things you added?” and those are TAPIOCA COCONUT WORMS also called in our family as tapioca kaab la. Kaab la is a type of worm that my parents would eat back in Thailand. They are known as Sago or Coconut Worms. These tapioca gems looks like Sago worms, that’s why we call them tapioca kaab la or tapioca coconut worms. This is also a Thai dessert, also known as Krong Krang Nam Ka Ti. These are basically made out of tapioca starch and your form of liquid to bind it together. They are rolled out on a Krong Krang mold, boiled, and then serve with a sweetened coconut syrup.
If you like tapioca pearls in your boba, well let’s say these are the same thing, same texture, just different shape and look. These are quite fun to make especially with your kids or a big group of people. Go crazy with the colors and use all kinds of natural ingredients to color it. Today, I’ll be showing you how to make purple sweet potato, orange yams, ube, green pandan, yellow mung bean, and beet root tapioca coconut worms. You can make just one color and double the recipe for the color you choose since it is quite time consuming. But we decided to make multiple colors to make it colorful in the naab vaam. So I hope you all enjoy and now, you finally know what those purple swirly things in the naab vaam are. Happy New Year and Happy Cooking!
COLOR CHOICES:
Use all kinds of sweet potatoes, mung bean, beet roots, pandan and ube
Tapioca Starch
Krong Krang Mold
Use a fork as an alternative. It won’t look as pretty though
Little rounds to worms
All the colors rolled out
All cooked
SO COLORFUL!
Serve with coconut syrup, cendol, tapioca pearls etc
ENJOY!
Ingredients
- Krong krang mold
- ---Purple Sweet Potato---
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup cooked purple sweet potato
- 2-3 tbsp hot boiling water
- ---Orange Yam---
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup cooked yams
- 1-2 tbsp hot boiling water
- ---Ube extract---
- 1/2 cup and 1 tbsp tapioca starch (add more later if needed)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp ube extract
- --- Green Pandan extract---
- 1/2 cup and 1 tbsp tapioca starch (add more later if needed)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp pandan extract
- --- Yellow Mung Bean---
- 1/4 cup dried mung bean (soaked in 1/2 cup hot water for 30 minutes ) and cooked with another 1/2 cup water added
- 1/2 cup and 1 tbsp tapioca starch (add more later if needed)
- 1/4 cup of the mung bean water puree (strained)
- ---Magenta Beet---
- 1 beet grated with 1 cup water added
- 1/2 cup and 1 tbsp tapioca starch (add more later if needed)
- 1/4 cup of strained beet juice
Instructions
For the purple sweet potato and orange yam
Peel, cut, and steam the purple sweet potato and orange yam until soft. In a bowl, add in 1/2 cup tapioca starch. Mash the purple sweet potato into the starch. Mix well. Then add in 1 Tbsp of hot boiling water at a time until it forms a pliable dough. I ended up using 3 tbsp. Microwave the dough for 15-20 secs so the tapioca starch becomes somewhat stretchier so it's easier to roll into balls. Once the dough is nice to work with, form little balls and then coat it with tapioca starch so they don't stick to each other. Then roll them on the mold until all the balls are used up. Do the same for the orange yams but reduce the amount of hot water added until it forms a nice dough. Microwave the same way (15-20 secs) until the dough is slightly stretchier. Form into little balls and roll into worms. Boil them for 3-5 minutes or until they float to the top. Once cooked, soak them in cold water a few times. Serve with coconut syrup.
For the Ube extract, Pandan extract, Mung Bean, and beet root
Ube extract & Pandan extract (same steps of either extract you end up using)
- In a pot, add in the 1/2 tsp of extract and 1/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil and then immediately add it into the 1/2 cup and 1 tbsp of starch. Mix immediately into a pliable dough. Add a little starch if it becomes a little sticky. Then let it sit for 2 minutes before rolling it into little balls. Coat with a little tapioca starch so they don't stick. Then roll them into worms. Cook in hot boiling water for 3-5 minutes and then transfer them into cold water so they don't stick. Serve
For Mung Bean
- Soak the dried mung bean in 1/2 cup of hot water for 30 minutes. Then transfer the the soaking liquid and mung bean into a pot. Add in an additional 1/2 cup and boil for 3-5 minutes. Then transfer into a blender or use an immersion blender to rough blend it. Drain the pulp and measure out 1/4 cup of the liquid to another pot. Bring that 1/4 cup mung bean water to a boil and then pour it over the tapioca starch. Mix immediately into a pliable dough. Add a little starch if it becomes a little sticky. Then let it sit for 2 minutes before rolling it into little balls. Coat with a little tapioca starch so they don't stick. Then roll them into worms. Cook in hot boiling water for 3-5 minutes and then transfer them into cold water so they don't stick. Serve
For Beet root
- Grate 1 beet and add in 1 cup of warm water. Let it soak for 5 minutes. Drain the pulp and squeeze out excess beet juice.
- Measure out 1/4 cup of the beet juice into a pot and let it come to a boil. Immediately add it into the tapioca starch. Mix immediately into a pliable dough. Add a little starch if it becomes a little sticky. Then let it sit for 2 minutes before rolling it into little balls. Coat with a little tapioca starch so they don't stick. Then roll them into worms. Cook in hot boiling water for 3-5 minutes and then transfer them into cold water so they don't stick. Serve
Notes
Add starch a little at a time if dough is a little sticky. Add hot boiling water a little at a time if needed. Add small amount at a time so you can control the texture of the dough.
