If you’d ever had the popular Filipino street food, taho, you will love my ube taho recipe! It’s made with soft tofu, small tapioca pearls, and arnibal (brown sugar syrup), milk, and ube halaya (ube jam). I love eating it warm or cold during any time of the year!
Love it? try my matcha taho!
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What Is Taho?
“Tahoooooo!”
In the streets of the Philippines, it’s common to hear that call from local taho vendors. Think of it like the ice cream truck, but better (my opinion, lol). These vendors carry large aluminum buckets filled with all the taho ingredients, assembling each cup fresh to order.
Taho is made with silken tofu, a brown sugar syrup called arnibal, and small tapioca pearls. It’s sweet, chewy, and silky—a super simple combination with a really satisfying texture. You can eat it for breakfast, as a snack, or dessert.
Taho is typically served warm, but cold taho is also a refreshing alternative, especially in the summer. These days, many flavors of taho have become popular, such as strawberry, ube, vanilla, buko pandan, and matcha!
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s full of ube flavor. Ube extract is added to the brown sugar syrup, and ube halaya is layered in between the sago and tofu! Eating it is such a textural experience! It’s silky, soft, chewy, bouncy, and just so yummy.
- It’s high in protein. Since it’s made with silken tofu, taho is a great option for those looking for a low-fat, high-protein treat.
Looking for other Filipino desserts? Try out my mango royale!
Ingredients
To make ube taho from scratch, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Make sure to use silken tofu for this recipe, NOT the regular block of soft or firm tofu. The delicate texture of silken tofu is the cornerstone ingredient of taho.
- For the arnibal (brown sugar syrup), you can use either light or dark brown sugar. You can even use muscovado sugar for a deeper caramel, molasses-like flavor.
- It’s best to use sago or small tapioca pearls for taho, instead of the bigger varieties. The smaller pearls complement the silky texture of the tofu better than the bigger, more rubbery pearls.
- Ube extract and ube halaya are what give this taho its ube flavor!
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.
How to Make Ube Taho
Step 1: In a small pot, add brown sugar and water. Cook on medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in ube extract. Set this mixture (aka ube arnibal) aside.
Step 2: In a medium pot, simmer small tapioca pearls for 10-15 minutes, or until the tapioca turns mostly translucent. Turn off heat and cover pot with lid until pearls are fully translucent, about 10 minutes. Strain and rinse under cold water, then transfer to a bowl. Stir in a few spoonfuls of ube arnibal to coat the pearls.
Step 3: In your serving cup, add silken tofu, sago, ube halaya, ube arnibal, and milk.
Step 4: Stir and enjoy, adding more ube arnibal to taste.
For full instructions, see the recipe card below.
😋 More Filipino Recipes You’ll Love
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Thank you so much! -Bianca ❤️
📖 Recipe & Video
Ube Taho
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Equipment
- medium pot
- small pot
- serving cups
- ladles for serving
Ingredients
For the tapioca pearls:
- 3 cups (711 g) water
- ⅓ cup (50 g) small tapioca pearls or sago
For the arnibal (brown sugar syrup):
- 1 cup (220 g) brown sugar light or dark; can also use muscovado
- ¾ cup (177.44 g) water
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) ube extract
Assembly:
- 16 ounces (454 g) silken tofu drained
- ½ cup (118 g) ube halaya
- 1 cup (244 g) milk any kind, I used oat!
Instructions
Cook the tapioca pearls:
- In a medium pot, bring 3 cups (711 g) water to a rolling boil. Stir in ⅓ cup (50 g) small tapioca pearls. Slightly lower heat and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes, or until tapioca turns from white to mostly translucent.
- Turn off heat and cover pot with lid. Let tapioca sit for 10 minutes, or until pearls are fully translucent. If the pearls still have small white dots in the center, cover pot with lid again and let sit for another 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer tapioca pearls to a fine mesh strainer. Rinse with cold water to stop them from cooking and get rid of excess starch. Transfer to its own bowl.
Cook the arnibal:
- In a small pot, add 1 cup (220 g) brown sugar and ¾ cup (177.44 g) water. Stir and cook on medium heat until the sugar fully dissolves, about 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon (4 g) ube extract.
- Add a few splashes of arnibal to the cooked tapioca pearls and gently mix. You just want to hydrate the pearls and add a bit of brown color.
Assemble taho:
- If you want warm tofu, feel free to microwave your tofu on a microwave-safe plate for 1-2 minutes.
- Scoop slices of tofu into your serving cups. Add tapioca, ube halaya, and arnibal. Top with milk.
- Stir ube taho and enjoy! If you want it sweeter, add more arnibal to your liking.
