You'll usually see this vegan snack being sold on the streets of the Philippines by vendors early in the morning. If you're not in the Philippines, you can make your own homemade version to have a refreshing morning or mid-day treat!
About Taho
While taho is a well-loved snack in the Philippines, it's harder to find it prepared in places like North America. Not just because the ingredients aren't a staple in typical Western cuisine, but also because you're obviously not going to find street vendors shouting on the streets in the morning trying to sell their taho.
But whether you've been to the Philippines and miss this dish, or you're just curious and want to try it, don't worry! It's surprisingly easy to throw this together if you have access to some Asian ingredients. It comes together with just three ingredients (soft tofu, syrup, and tapioca pearls) and is a delightful treat for the taste buds.
What's even better is that this snack is vegan by default! Filipino cuisine in modern times isn't know for being particularly vegan-friendly. So it's great that we have one popular dish that vegans can enjoy together with their non-vegan friends.
Ingredients
- Soft tofu: This is part of what makes taho such a refreshing snack. Heat up your soft tofu and it takes on this satisfying smoky flavor. Use it cold and the taho becomes perfect for a hot summer day. Tofu is also a classic high-quality source of plant-based protein.
- Tapioca Pearls or Sago: This gives taho some fun chewy texture. This is normally made with sago pearls, but tapioca pearls are a similar and typically more affordable option.
- Syrup: You have two options here: Maple syrup or arnibal (the term used in the Philippines for a brown sugar syrup). Arnibal is used with this dish traditionally, but I included maple syrup as an option because it's so much more accessible in grocery stores in North America.
How to Make Taho
We'll start off with the most difficult part of this recipe: preparing the tapioca pearls. Everything else comes together much more quickly.
Tapioca pearls in a package typically come with prepping instructions. You can just follow those and ignore this section about prepping them. If your tapioca pearls didn't come with instructions for some reason or they're in a language you can't understand, here is how I typically prepare them:
Bring 4 liters of water to a boil. Add the tapioca slowly into the boiling water. Once the tapioca starts to float to the surface, cover the pot and lower the heat to medium for 3 minutes.
Turn off the heat and leave the pot covered for 2 minutes. Afterward, drain & rinse the tapioca pearls with cold water until the tapioca is fully cooled. Set them aside in a bowl.
After the tapioca pearls are ready, the rest of the cooking is simple in comparison. For the tofu, heat it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes if you want it to be warm/hot (otherwise, just leave it as is). The syrup should already be ready.
Assemble the ingredients into a glass and enjoy! This recipe should create about 3 servings.
Tips
- While maple syrup is a convenient choice (especially if you live in Canada like me), I'd recommend trying to make arnibal at least once and experience it with taho. Arnibal has a rich flavor and the taho will be prepared in a way that's more in line with how it's made in the Philippines.
Taho
Equipment
- large pot
- small/medium bowl
- Strainer
- microwaveable plate/container (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 block soft tofu 530g
- 250 g tapioca pearls or sago
- ¾ cup
arnibal or maple syrup ~180ml
Instructions
Tapioca Pearls
- Cook the tapioca pearls according to package instructions. If no package instructions are included, follow the remaining steps of this section to prepare them.
- Bring 16 cups (4 l) of water to a boil.
- Add tapioca slowly into the boiling water.
- Once the tapioca starts to float to the surface, cover the pot and leave on medium heat for 3 minutes.
- Turn off heat and leave pot covered for 2 minutes.
- Drain and rinse the tapioca pearls with cold water until the tapioca is fully cooled. Set aside in a bowl.
Tofu
- Place tofu in a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 1-2 minutes. Do not do this if you want your tofu cold.
Assembly
- Scoop a few layers of the soft tofu into a glass, followed by a generous serving of the tapioca pearls, then the syrup. Add more of any ingredients if desired. Enjoy!
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