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Hong Kong French toast

Hong Kong French toast

西多士
Pan-friedToast and breadBreakfastAfternoon teaWeekendKids like itEasyhands-on 12 min · start to finish 15 min

“Toast it till it crackles, butter it while it is hot.”

Ingredientsserves 1

雜貨舖White loaf· thick-cut, 35–40 g a slice; trim the crusts for the café square2 thick slices
雜貨舖Peanut butter· smooth1–2 tbsp
街市Chicken egg (hard-boiled)· beaten2
街市Fresh milk· in the egg, optional1 tbsp
雜貨舖Cooking oil· about 0.2 cm in the pan, for shallow-frying3–4 tbsp
雜貨舖Butter· to top10 g
雜貨舖Golden syrup· or condensed milk1–2 tbsp

Method

  1. Spread peanut butter on one slice, close the sandwich with the other, and cut off the crusts if you want the café square.
  2. Beat the eggs (with a tablespoon of milk if using) in a shallow dish; lay the sandwich in for two minutes, turn, and give it two minutes more so both faces and all four edges take the egg.
  3. Heat about 0.2 cm of oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
  4. Fry the sandwich about ninety seconds a side until deep golden, then stand it on each of the four edges for ten seconds, steadied with a spatula and chopsticks. Four golden edges are the test of a proper 西多.
  5. Drain on kitchen paper and put the butter on top while it is hot.
  6. Pour over the syrup or condensed milk, cut into quarters and eat at once.
  7. The café drops the whole sandwich into a wok of oil, the same oil as the chicken wings, until it puffs into a brown cushion; at home it is shallow-fried, with less oil and more egg, usually with the crusts on, and it is still unmistakably the same thing.

Take care

  • Contains peanut (the filling), egg, wheat and milk (butter, milk, condensed milk). The egg is cooked through by the frying. Shallow-fry at home rather than deep-fry, and keep children away from the hot oil.

The story

西多士, 'Western toast', is the 1950s 冰室's answer to French toast: cheap white bread, an egg, the deep-fryer and syrup, and it is the dish outsiders name first when they think of Hong Kong café food. 李司棋 learned her three-ingredient version on a television set; and whether the 'real' one has peanut butter in the middle is an argument the city has now run for two generations, with 新假期's regulars insisting the original was just egg-soaked bread with butter and syrup and the filling a later Kowloon habit.

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Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.