AUTHOR JENNIFER J. CHOW BOILS UP BUBBLE TEA AND A NEW MYSTERY SERIES

Today we’re joined by award-nominated mystery author Jennifer J. Chow who writes the Sassy Cat Mysteries and the L.A. Night Market Mysteries. The first in her Sassy Cat series, Mimi Lee Gets a Clue, was selected as a PopSugar Best Summer Beach Read and was one of BuzzFeed's Top 5 Books by AAPI authors. Learn more about Jennifer and her books at her website.

I just released a new culinary cozy series called the L.A. Night Market Mysteries. Two cousins with opposing personalities have to run a food stall together—and solve the occasional murder. The first book in the series is Death by Bubble Tea. With a title like that, I knew I had to dive into making boba drinks (and imbibing them—for research purposes, of course). 

 

There are loads of flavors to choose from when it comes to bubble tea, including the classic version (black tea with creamer). More unique choices include taro, jasmine, and wintermelon. There are also a variety of fruity ones (peach, mango, etc.), which I tend to prefer. 

 

One of my favorites is grapefruit green tea. Naturally, I had to create my own homemade version so I could include a recipe in the back of my book. The quintessential element of bubble tea is the addition of tapioca pearls (chewy balls made from cassava root starch). These pearls, also known as boba, can require up to thirty minutes of cooking time to reach their optimal texture (chewy but not overly soft). 

 

Since I’m an impatient gal, I like using the five-minute cooking variety to speed up the process. If you’d like to make some grapefruit bubble tea at home, you can try out my recipe:

 

Grapefruit Green Tea with Boba

(serves one)

Grapefruit tea:

1-1/2 cups jasmine green tea

1/2 medium grapefruit

2 teaspoons maple syrup

1/4 cup boba

 

Simple syrup:

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

Boil 1-1/2 cups water and make jasmine green tea; let steep. 

Juice the grapefruit half.

Cook boba according to package instructions (I like using the five-minute quick-cooking variety).

Make simple syrup: bring 1/2 cup water to boil and remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup sugar and let dissolve; cool.

Add cooked boba to simple syrup (this keeps balls from sticking together and adds sweetness). 

Pour tea into glass. Stir in grapefruit juice and maple syrup. Add desired amount of ice to tea or refrigerate to chilled.

Scoop up boba and place in drink.

Readers: What kind of interesting drinks have you tried?

 

Death by Bubble Tea

An L.A. Night Market Mystery, Book 1

 

Two cousins who start a food stall at their local night market get a serving of murder in this first novel of a delicious new cozy mystery series by Jennifer J. Chow, author of Mimi Lee Gets a Clue.

When Yale Yee discovers her cousin Celine is visiting from Hong Kong, she is obliged to play tour guide to a relative she hasn’t seen in twenty years. Not only that, but her father thinks it’s a wonderful idea for them to bond by running a food stall together at the Eastwood Village Night Market. Yale hasn’t cooked in years, and she hardly considers Celine’s career as a social media influencer as adequate experience, but because she’s just lost her job at her local bookstore, she feels she has no choice.

 

Yale and Celine serve small dishes and refreshing drinks, and while business is slow, it eventually picks up thanks to Celine’s surprisingly useful marketing ideas. They’re quite shocked that their bubble tea, in particular, is a hit—literally—when one of their customers turns up dead. Yale and Celine are prime suspects due to the gold flakes that Celine added to the sweet drink as a garnish. Though the two cousins are polar opposites in every way, they must work together to find out what really happened to the victim or the only thing they’ll be serving is time.

Buy Links

paperback 

ebook 

audiobook