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Taho
Taho: warm silken tofu, dark arnibal syrup and chewy sago pearls, the breakfast cup of the morning street vendor
Before eight in the morning in any Philippine barangay you hear the call "Tahooo!" as the magtataho walks past with two aluminium buckets balanced on a shoulder pole: one holds warm, wobbly silken tofu, the other dark arnibal syrup and sago. He scoops paper-thin layers of tofu into a plastic cup with a flat ladle, pours syrup over and adds the pearls, and children eat it standing at the gate with a spoon or slurp it through a wide straw. The taste is caramel and soy milk; the texture is custard-soft tofu against chewy pearls. Baguio has its own pink strawberry version. The common mistake is cooking the sago in too little water or not stirring at the start, so the pearls glue into a lump; use plenty of boiling water and stir for the first two minutes. The sago is ready when the pearls are translucent with only a tiny white dot left in the centre, and the arnibal is right when it coats a spoon like thin maple syrup. Chef's tip: steam the tofu in its box or bowl rather than boiling it, so it stays in one silky piece. Small sago pearls are a choking risk for babies and toddlers, so serve them only to older children.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the sago
- 2 ⅛ oz small sago or tapioca pearlsdry
- 6 ¼ cups waterfor boiling
For the arnibal
- ¾ cup water
- 1 pandan leaf (optional)knotted; or 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
For the taho
- 1 ⅓ lb silken tofuthe softest you can find
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Bring 6 ¼ cups water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Pour in 2 ⅛ oz small sago or tapioca pearls in a thin stream, stirring all the time for 2 minutes so no pearls stick.
3 minStep 2: Simmer over medium heat, stirring every few minutes, for 15–20 minutes until the pearls are almost clear with only a small white dot in the middle. Turn off the heat, cover and leave 10 minutes; the dot disappears.
20 minStep 3: Meanwhile, put 5 ½ oz dark brown or muscovado sugar in a small pan over medium heat and let it melt and bubble for about 2 minutes until it smells of caramel and darkens a shade. Don't let it smoke.
3 minStep 4: Take the pan off the heat and carefully add ¾ cup water (it will spit), then add 1 pandan leaf. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes until the arnibal coats the back of a spoon. Remove the pandan.
6 minStep 5: Drain the sago, rinse it under warm water to wash off the starch and stir it into a third of the syrup so the pearls pick up colour.
2 minStep 6: Steam 1 ⅓ lb silken tofu, still in one piece in a heatproof bowl, over simmering water for 8–10 minutes until it is hot all the way through when you press the centre with a spoon.
10 minStep 7: Scoop thin, wide layers of tofu into cups with a flat spoon, pour over the warm arnibal and top with the sago. Serve warm right away, with spoons or wide straws.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 47 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does taho take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of dark brown or muscovado sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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