Taho or silken tofu, one of my favorite food from the Philippines that I wish I had more of when I am abroad. I have had taho or silken tofu once or twice whenever I have dimsum in Chinatown with my aunt in LA, but it is not the same. The particular dimsum we would go to flavored their tofu with ginger.
In culinary school I learned that silken tofu was made from boiling soy beans until it’s milk can be extracted from it, and it is curdled by adding a soy coagulant called nigari (magnesium chloride) or food grade gypsum (calcium sulfate).
A few days ago my best friend tweeted about enjoying this Philippine favorite and so I set out to research how I can make my own version of taho. Unfortunately I could not get a hold of the soy coagulants or maybe I just don’t know where to look. I also could not find tapioca pearls, again it could be because I was getting impatient and would not look any further. (HEHE)
I used knox gelatin, soy milk, sugar, instant tapioca (yes the one you use for pudding), hence, this is not a warm taho but a cold one. Gelatine afterall sets as it cools.
Taho or Silken Tofu
- 4 cups Original Silk Soy Milk
- 2 packets Knox gelatin
In a saucepan, heat up and simmer soy milk. Away from heat mix in two packets of gelatin. Once dissolve, run through a sieve to make sure that there are no gelatin lumps. Set aside to cool.
Burnt Sugar Syrup
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tsp lime or lemon juice
In a sauce pan, combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer. Allow sugar to caramelize to a dark amber color. Do not over do it though because it might burn too a point that you cannot use it.
Tapioca (I did not use pearls, eep!)
- 3 tbsp. Minit Tapioca
- water
In a sauce pan, combine tapioca and water (eyeball – make sure tapioca is covered). As it simmers and thicken, it will have consistency of cornstarch), add more water or tapioca if needed. It will set to a sticky paste.
I will make sure to update my blog when I get my hands on magnesium chloride or calcium sulfate. Enjoy!
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