Every morning we hear the melodious call of the magtataho or the taho vendor “Tahoooooo”. Why I say melodious? because other taho vendors are putting a melody when shouting the word “Taho” to attract children to buy the product. My daughter, nephews and nieces race outside the house to call on the magtataho once they hear his voice. My daughter will then will ask me, Mama can we buy taho, plsssssss? I usually spend 20.00- 30.00 pesos almost everyday just for this street food. Kind of heavy on my pocket though so I told them if we buy 1 big cup, it has to be shared by 3 kids. Of course they agreed otherwise, NO TAHO.
Taho vendor or Magtataho is a common sight in street of the Phillippines thus this delicacy is dubbed as a street food. Two large aluminum buckets hang from each end of a bamboo pole carried by the vendor. The large bucket carries the soya bean curd and the smaller bucket carries the sago and caramelized sugar.
As per history, Taho was one of the foods influenced by the Chinese traders before the Spanish colonization.
Caramelized sugar (arnibal), vanilla syrup and sago pearls (tapioca pearl) for toppings.
Taho (made from silken tofu)
Most taho vendors prepare the food early in morning so that it is still hot when sold to their loyal patrons. Taho is made of fresh silken tofu, arnibal (brown sugar and vanilla syrup) and pearl sago (tapioca pearl).
The magtataho carries plastic cups of 2 sizes for different prices. Mostly, it is sold at 5.00 and 10.00 per cup. Some customers bring their own cup/s when buying Taho.
A wide, shallow metal scoop is use to remove and toss the excess water of the soya bean curd before scooping it into the cup. On the second bucket, the magtataho will again scoop the sago or tapioca pearls and the caramelized sugar into the cup, mixing it using a thin metal ladle.
Taho is usually served hot, eaten with a spoon or by just simply slurping the bean curd straight from the cup. It is also best when served cold, straight from the refrigerator as a dessert. Slurp, slurp, slurp.
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