Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup

菲律賓豆腐花

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — finished dish

Total time: 25 min
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 4 servings

Recipe overview

Warm silken tofu is layered with properly cooked sago and a pourable brown-sugar arnibal scented with half a vanilla pod.

01

Ingredients

Main ingredients

600 g silken tofu
50 g sago pearls
1 L water for cooking sago
1/2 vanilla pod, split
300 ml cooled boiled water for holding cooked sago

Arnibal syrup

120 g brown sugar
120 ml water for arnibal

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — ingredients

02

Tools

Fine sieve
Large pot
Small saucepan and wooden spoon
Heatproof bowl and water-bath rack
Ladle

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — tools

03

Steps

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — Rinse the sago

Step 1

Rinse the sago

Rinse sago pearls in a sieve until the surface starch runs clear.

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — Boil the measured sago water

Step 2

Boil the measured sago water

Bring 1 litre water to a rolling boil before adding the sago.

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — Cook until mostly translucent

Step 3

Cook until mostly translucent

Stir sago for 10 minutes over medium heat until mostly translucent.

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — Stand until centres clear

Step 4

Stand until centres clear

Turn off heat, cover and stand 8 minutes until the centres lose their white dots.

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — Rinse and hold the sago

Step 5

Rinse and hold the sago

Drain sago, rinse under cooled boiled water and hold it in 300 ml clean cooled boiled water.

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — Start the vanilla arnibal

Step 6

Start the vanilla arnibal

Combine brown sugar, 120 ml water and split vanilla in a small saucepan.

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — Simmer to a light syrup

Step 7

Simmer to a light syrup

Simmer arnibal over low heat for 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the syrup lightly coats a spoon.

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — Remove vanilla and keep warm

Step 8

Remove vanilla and keep warm

Remove vanilla and hold arnibal warm, not boiling, so it stays pourable.

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — Warm tofu below a simmer

Step 9

Warm tofu below a simmer

Set silken tofu in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water for 6 minutes; never let it boil.

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — Spoon tofu into bowls

Step 10

Spoon tofu into bowls

Spoon warm tofu gently into four bowls without stirring or breaking the curds.

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — Add measured arnibal and sago

Step 11

Add measured arnibal and sago

Pour 2 tbsp warm arnibal around each tofu portion, then add 1 tbsp drained sago.

Filipino Taho with Silken Tofu and Syrup — Serve warm without mixing

Step 12

Serve warm without mixing

Serve immediately while tofu is warm and the sago remains separate in the syrup.

Common mistakes

Adding sago before water boils makes it stick.
Leaving white centres in sago gives a chalky bite.
Boiling silken tofu breaks it.
Mixing the finished bowl destroys the layers.

Tips

Keep tofu below a simmer; boiling breaks the delicate curds.

Rinse cooked sago so the pearls do not clump.

Add arnibal around tofu instead of stirring through it.