Hong Kong French Toast is one of the most iconic desserts of Hong Kong. It is similar to regular French toast but it is stuffed with peanut butter and deep-fried. It has an impressively tall height from using two or more pieces of thick white bread. I know many you do not like deep-frying so I am making a pan-fried version today. It is easier to make and tastes just as good, but it does look more like regular French toast.
Can't get enough of Hong Kong? Try my Hong Kong Lemon Tea next!
๐ญ๐ฐ About This Recipe
I hate bringing out my deep-fryer when it is not necessary so I am making a pan-fried version today. If you want to deep-fry it, you totally can. I have also air-fried it recently and it works out just as good.
๐ What Bread To Use?
In my opinion, the best bread to use is Asian-style milk bread. It is softer, fluffier, and much richer than regular white bread. And soft and fluffy are cornerstones of delicious Hong Kong French toast.
If possible, try to find thick-cut slices of bread. I have never went to an HK-style cafe where the French toast was not extremely tall. If you cannot find thick bread, you can stack 3 pieces of thinner bread together to give it the extra height.
๐ง Ingredients
- Bread: As stated above, I recommend thick slices of milk bread. But you can use any type of white bread.
- Batter: Eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Peanut butter: I am using Jif creamy peanut butter. For desserts, I generally recommend processed peanut butter instead of natural/organic peanut butter. It is way softer and creamier.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: If you have leftovers, you can store it in the freezer directly in the can. You can also use maple syrup or golden syrup.
โญ Tips For Success
- Do not oversoak the bread. One thing I have noticed with all Hong Kong cafes is that the egg batter does not penetrate very deeply into the bread. After multiple rounds of testing, I have found that a quick soak for about one minute works best.
- Use day-old bread. This is standard practice for all French toast, the Hong Kong version included. Because we are soaking the bread, we want it to be slightly drier so it is less soggy in the end.
๐ช Instructions
STEP 1: Spread peanut butter on one slice of bread, then sandwich it with the other. If you are using three slices of bread, add peanut butter to the middle slice as well.
STEP 2: In a shallow bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until smooth.
STEP 3: Soak the sandwich in the batter for 30 seconds on each side. You do not want to soak it for too long or else the final product will be soggy.
STEP 4: Melt a small amount of butter in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the soaked sandwich and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
STEP 5: Finally, serve with a generous drizzle of sweetened condensed milk.
๐ Recipe
Hong Kong-style French Toast
Ingredients
- 4-6 slices bread (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- ยผ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- โ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
- ยผ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon butter (for frying)
- ยผ cup sweetened condensed milk (or maple syrup)
Instructions
- For each sandwich, spread one tablespoon of peanut butter between all the bread slices, then sandwich them so the peanut butter is on the inside. If you want to, you can cut off the crusts.
- In a shallow bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until smooth.
- Soak the sandwich in the batter for 30 seconds on each side. You do not want to soak it for too long or else the final product will be soggy.
- Melt the butter in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the soaked sandwich and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Finally, serve with a generous drizzle of sweetened condensed milk. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply