TOFU

Dani after a bath.

I had not stocked up for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday so my fridge was empty. I didn’t even have drinking water. The mall was already closed yesterday so i was ready to starve to death this holy week as penance (not by choice) and maybe, become a saint.

Well today I needed to buy tofu as my reserves had been depleted. So I tried my luck at the local wet market. As I was walking, I was deep in thought as to what the Tagalog word for tofu was, lest I had to explain to the vendor the intricacies of the tofu production process, just to let him know what I meant. I had it at the tip of my tongue…Tofu…tofu….ano na nga ba yung tagalong nun? Ano na ba yung tawag sa may may baboy at tofu na nilalagyan ng toyo at suka? Hmmm… ayun! Toge at baboy!

So the manong was handing me these mongo sprouts.
“manong, para san yan?”
“e sabi mo toge eh.”
“manong, hindi yan.”
“e toge eh, o eto.”
“yung ano po, yung galing sa taho, yung puti, yung sinasama sa baboy.”
“ah, tokwa!”
“sabi ko nga.”

So there, tokwa, hindi toge. Tanga.