World Breakfasts at Home: I'm Hooked on the Filipino Tofu Dessert 'Taho'

What is the Filipino local food 'Taho'?

'Taho~! Taho~! Would you like some Taho~?'

Do you know about the local food
'Taho' that is commonly eaten for breakfast in the Philippines?

It is a warm, comforting dessert perfect for breakfast, made by pouring brown sugar syrup over warmed tofu.

In the Philippines, there are 'Taho vendors' carrying balance scales, and it seems people buy it from them in the morning!

🌏 I love world travel programs

Since I was a child, I have loved TV programs about 'traveling the world' (I liked 'From Window of the World', 'World Mystery Discovery', and 'World Ururun Stay Journal', etc.).

I was glued to the screen when this Taho appeared on a TV show the other day. I rewound that scene many times.

I want to go to the Philippines right now and experience the atmosphere firsthand! But since I can't go right now, I decided to try making it myself.

I looked at recipes posted by various people and tried making it by improvising with ingredients I had at home.

【Ingredients and How to Make Tofu Dessert, Taho】

■ Silken tofu
■ Brown sugar■ Salt
■ Tapioca

First, boil the tapioca.
Actually, it seems they use 'sago'—small balls made from the starch of the sago palm tree—instead of tapioca.However, I will use tapioca here as it is easier to obtain.

■ Super easy way to boil tapioca

I used a pressure cooker to boil it, so it cooked up deliciously in about 10 minutes without soaking.
Add 40g of tapioca and 2 cups of water,
and pressurize for about 10 minutes. Once the pressure drops, it's done.(The pressurization time varies depending on the type of pressure cooker, so please check that yourself.)
Tapioca is black, round, and rolling. Cute.Douchi (fermented black beans) look similar in shape, but

Since I have a pet rabbit, everything that is black and round is...

...Oh! Sorry!! (I'll refrain from saying more)

It's cute, isn't it! Those little round things!!

Now, moving on, I'll make the brown sugar syrup.

■ Simple Brown Sugar Syrup Recipe

Powdered brown sugar (2 heaping tablespoons)Water (50ml)
A pinch of saltVanilla syrup (a splash of the Starbucks kind)
I simmered these in a small frying pan to make the syrup. Microwaving is also fine.

However, if you have kuromitsu (black sugar syrup), I think you can just dilute it slightly and warm it up!

■ Warm the silken tofu

Steaming it in a bamboo steamer is an option, but I boiled it to minimize the dishes to wash.
Microwaving it should also work.

Scoop the warmed tofu with a spoon and put it into a cup. Pour plenty of brown sugar syrup over it.

Then, top it with boiled tapioca pearls and it's done!!

On TV, they were drinking this with a straw, but I don't have any straws suitable for tapioca at home!
I ate it with a spoon, just like pudding.

The taste is lighter than pudding. It's tofu, but you can really enjoy the dessert feel. The warm tofu gently warms my body from the inside out.

This is a gentle, sweet treat made with tofu,

a vegan dessert!!

Since both the tofu and the syrup are warm, it warms you from the inside, and I think it's perfect for when you want something sweet in the morning but want something gentle on your body!

Someday, I want to buy it from a Taho vendor locally and try it!!

[Bonus]

I used the leftover tapioca to make a tapioca brown sugar milk tea using the Royal Milk Tea base sold at Kaldi!!