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Home Recipes

Taho Recipe

Taho is a type of snack in the Philippines. It has a pudding-like texture. The toppings include a sweet brown syrup called arnibal, and sago pearls. You will often see hawkers early in the morning selling taho on the streets. I love having taho for breakfast. When we are in Manila, we make sure to…

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By: Vanjo Merano 25 Comments Updated: 4/25/23

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Taho is a type of snack in the Philippines. It has a pudding-like texture. The toppings include a sweet brown syrup called arnibal, and sago pearls. You will often see hawkers early in the morning selling taho on the streets.

Homemade Taho


 

I love having taho for breakfast. When we are in Manila, we make sure to wake-up early to be able to purchase some from the โ€œmagtatahoโ€. This is something that cannot be bought in the states, so I make one for myself and my family. The recipe below shows you how I do it. It is easier than you think.

What is Taho Made of?

The white pudding part of taho is actually tofu. It is called soft silken tofu because of its soft texture and shiny appearance. It had to be made from scratch by the magtataho in the Philippines using soy beans. It can also be bought from the supermarket in its finished form.

The brown syrup or arinibal is made of brown sugar and water. Vanilla extract can also be added to the syrup for best results.

Sago pearls comes in different sizes. My recollection of taho when I was a child is the same as the ones sold at present, except that the sago pearls are larger. These days I see that taho comes with small sago. These are the same ones that I used in my sago and gulaman recipe.

How to Make Taho at Home

Homemade Taho Recipe

Making taho in the comfort of your home is easy, at least for the pudding part. Simply purchase soft silken tofu from the supermarket and you are halfway done.

The next steps are to make the syrup and cook sago. Making the brown arnibal is just like making a simple syrup. Combine 1 part of water to 2 parts brown sugar. Let it boil and stir until well blended. You may also add vanilla extract if desired.

The last step is to assemble everything together. Put some soft silken tofu on a mug. Microwave for a minute. Top with arnibal and sago pearls.

Cooking Sago

Large sago pearls takes awhile to cook completely. I do it by boiling the sago in water for 30 minutes. Add sugar and continue to boil for another 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked all throughout.

It is best to let the pearls soak in water for a few hours or overnight. Smaller sago pearls are the opposite. These cook quicker. The key when cooking small sago has something to do with the temperature of the water. Always make sure that the water is rapidly boiling before adding these. Otherwise, the small pearls will just get diluted in water.

I published a recipe that details the steps on how to cook sago. Check it here.

Is Taho a Good Source of Protein?

The tofu in taho is high in protein. 3 ounces of it contains 5 grams of protein. It also has other nutrients.

Taho

The tofu contains essential amino acids, and a good source of calcium and iron. This article details the health benefits of taho.

Try this Taho Recipe. Let me know what you think.

Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag us on Instagram at @panlasangpinoy or hashtag #panlasangpinoy so we can see your creations!

Homemade Taho
4.50 from 2 votes

Homemade Taho

Soft silken tofu topped with a sweet brown syrup and sago pearls. 
Prep: 5 minutes minutes
Cook: 45 minutes minutes
Total: 50 minutes minutes
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Ingredients

  • 22 ounces soft silken tofu
  • 3/4 cup sago pearls Note 1
  • 4 1/2 cups water

Arnibal ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

  • Pour 5 cups of water in a cooking pot and bring to a boil.
  • Add the sago pearls. Boil for 3 to 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to low setting, continue boiling for 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Drain the hot water by filtering the sago using a kitchen strainer. Put the sago pearls in a bowl with warm water and let it stay until needed.
  • Make the arnibal by boiling 3/4 cup water in a saucepan. Add the brown sugar. Stir. Add the vanilla extract. Turn the heat off. Set aside.
  • Transfer the extra soft tofu in a bowl. Microwave it for 2 1/2 minutes.
  • Arrange the soft tofu in individual cups. Top with sago pearls and pour arnibal (syrup) on top.
  • Serve warm. Share and Enjoy

Notes

Note 1: The cooking duration for sago pearls vary depending on the type used. The ones that I use got cooked in around 15 minutes. Note that cooking time can be as much as 40 minutes. The key here is to test each sago by chewing.You know that it is done when it is easy to chew.

Video

YouTube video

Nutrition Information

Serving: 3g Calories: 605kcal (30%) Carbohydrates: 114g (38%) Protein: 18g (36%) Fat: 9g (14%) Saturated Fat: 1g (5%) Sodium: 86mg (4%) Potassium: 121mg (3%) Fiber: 3g (12%) Sugar: 89g (99%) Vitamin C: 0.9mg (1%) Calcium: 347mg (35%) Iron: 3.2mg (18%)
ยฉ copyright: Vanjo Merano

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Vanjo Merano

Vanjo Merano is the creator of PanlasangPinoy.com. His goal is to introduce Filipino Food and Filipino Cuisine to the rest of the world. This blog was the first step that he took.

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Recipe Rating




  1. LF says

    Posted on 3/22/15 at 9:18 am

    Thank u for this! It really is taho!

    I added molases to the syrup it makes it taste more like our taho street food. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Erika says

      Posted on 4/8/15 at 5:33 pm

      4 stars
      Oh really, how much should you add? Thanks ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  2. Diana Trinidad says

    Posted on 3/1/12 at 4:26 am

    i love u kuya, lol…. thank you sooooooooooo much….

    Reply
  3. Elaine says

    Posted on 1/31/12 at 4:51 am

    Thanks for this recipe. I have been wanting to eat this for so long. I was lucky enough to have found soy pudding here where I’m staying. So it’s pretty much like the real thing and smells like it too.

    Reply
  4. Ida says

    Posted on 1/29/12 at 12:17 pm

    I love your website! Whenever i miss Pinoy food, I’ll immediately look into your site for recipes and I’m getting great feedbacks regarding my cooking skills…if they only knew! My friends and my husband enjoyed trying our food. I’m currently pregnant with my first child and one of the things I love to take for breakfast when I had my vacation in Manila was taho. Since I came back, I was missing it so much. Thank God, I found your recipe here. Thank you and keep on sharing more recipes!

    Reply
  5. Sandy says

    Posted on 1/24/12 at 5:34 pm

    Instead of microwaving the tofu, could I steam it instead?

    Reply
  6. BhABY_V says

    Posted on 1/7/12 at 8:22 am

    can u still make taho if u dont have extra soft tofu?!

    Reply
  7. Davao Food Tripper says

    Posted on 12/1/11 at 12:07 am

    Would like to try making this one at home. But since I cannot make one for now. I would go out and buy taho for snacks.

    Reply
  8. hello says

    Posted on 11/22/11 at 9:56 am

    thnks for the recipe.

    Reply
  9. JC says

    Posted on 7/30/11 at 5:27 pm

    Tried this. Wonderful!!! I haven’t had Taho in 7 years. Wow. Love it! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  10. Fatimah Araneta says

    Posted on 7/26/11 at 12:49 pm

    I’ve just read your recipe for home made taho. I can’t wait to try it out! But please tell me what I can do if I don’t have a microwave oven to heat the extra soft tofu for a minute? What can I do instead? Is this step absolutely necessary?

    Thanks in advance for your reply!

    Reply
  11. Bea Jenesa says

    Posted on 4/6/11 at 11:03 am

    Hi! so i live in Saskatoon, Canada, where do you think can I buy extra soft tofu and tapioca pearls? My mom said theres no soft tofu @ walmart.

    Reply
  12. malou says

    Posted on 2/6/11 at 4:04 pm

    i recently found/subscribed to your website. and for the last 2 weeks, i made the following for the very 1st time--thanks to your wonderful and easy to follow video instructions.

    i made your taho recipe last night. this is so good and so simple to make. i used the mini tapioca pearls instead of the regular sized ones (quicker to cook/make).

    i also made your polvoron recipe last week for my family. they loved it—and wants to me make more! i won’t probably wrapped them as they go so fast!

    i also made the bananaque last night. my husband loved it! i think this will be a regular merienda food on the weekends.

    the next one i want to try is the pastillas de leche. i found powdered goat milk—do you think this can work too?

    thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply
  13. bubbles says

    Posted on 1/14/11 at 9:53 am

    omgooodneeessss.. thank you so so much! I am so gonna try this!!!!

    Reply
  14. Kristine says

    Posted on 8/17/10 at 8:24 pm

    Hi, I can’t thank you enough for sharing your taho recipe. I am so happy to find out how easy it is to prepare my favorite taho. My cousin and I were just searching online to find out where we can find taho here in Florida, thank goodness we I came across your site. We haven’t had taho in like ages!! Thank you so much, really appreciate it!! Your recipes are so helpful, more power to you and your show.

    Reply
  15. ~KATE~ says

    Posted on 8/8/10 at 8:46 pm

    hello!!! i am your new follower. ^^,

    Reply
  16. hayyanah says

    Posted on 2/27/10 at 12:10 am

    Hi Kuya,

    i was just telling to my friend that i am missing this Taho here in Middle east and just found out that its not kind of hard thing to do it. Thanks for posting this !!! Godbless and more power for your food recipes & advice more to come!!!

    Reply
  17. Vanessa says

    Posted on 2/25/10 at 12:17 am

    I tried this yesterday but had to redo the tapioca pearls & follow the cooking directions on the packaging. Then everything was perfect, tastes better than store bought. Thanks for the recipe!

    Can u post more veggie recipes please? Tnx again.

    Reply
  18. XiaoYen says

    Posted on 2/24/10 at 6:37 pm

    I love, absolutely love Asian desserts. My Filipino coworkers would make all these delicious desserts for our potlucks and parties. This is a very simple recipe. I love tofu too!

    Reply
  19. JU says

    Posted on 2/24/10 at 11:08 am

    I love your style of cooking..I just made beef steak yesterday and my husband loved!!keep up the good work!!

    Reply
  20. diane says

    Posted on 2/21/10 at 4:00 am

    Simple and easy to prepare yet full of health benefits!

    Reply
    • Pinky says

      Posted on 2/22/10 at 7:39 am

      Hello!
      It’s so amazing to find your cooking website. I’m so impressed. You showed it so simple and easy to prepare our favorite filipino dishes.
      I was making TAHO ever since with the use of Soft Tofu when I came here to States 22 years ago. Taho is my favorite breakfast meal. I remember in the Philippines I always waited to hear “TAHO” outside the street in our house every morning and they do come back in the afternon for merienda. What I do here is just heat the soft tofu with water water and brown sugar at the same time in the microwave. Then, I have the best TAHO similar taste to the one we buy in the Philippines. I will try your procedure.
      I want to let you know that I truly enjoy watching all your cooking and it’s really great!

      Reply
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As a huge fan of Filipino food, it is my goal to teach people how to cook it using the simplest way possible. Prepare your taste buds for an ultimate showdown of delectable Filipino dishes! Read more…

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