Hong Kong-Style Peanut Butter French Toast
The Hong Kong café icon: thick white bread sandwiched with peanut butter, dipped in egg and fried crisp, then crowned with a slab of butter and a drizzle of condensed milk.
Method
Cut the crusts off the bread. Pair up the slices, spread peanut butter on one slice of each pair leaving a 5 mm border, then top with the second slice and press the edges firmly together so the sandwich doesn't open while frying.
Add in this stepThick white sandwich bread (2 cm), crusts removed 4Smooth peanut butter 3 tbsp
Beat the eggs and milk in a wide, shallow dish until completely smooth.
Add in this stepEggs 2Milk 2 tbsp
Pour the oil into a completely dry 24 cm frying pan, about 1 cm deep, and heat over medium heat for to 170°C. Without a thermometer, dip the tip of a dry wooden chopstick in: steady small bubbles should rise around it. Use a back burner, never leave the pan unattended and keep water well away from the oil.
Add in this stepNeutral oil (for frying) 450 ml
medium heatDip each sandwich in the egg, turning to coat both faces and all four edges, and let the excess drip off. Lower it into the oil, laying it away from you to avoid splashes. Keeping the oil at about 170°C (medium heat), fry in 1 batch(es), two sandwiches at most per batch, in total, about 1.5 minutes per side, until deep golden and puffed. Hold each sandwich upright with tongs for a few seconds per edge to seal it. Drain on a rack or paper towels.
medium heatPut a thick pat of butter on each hot toast and drizzle generously with condensed milk (or golden syrup). Cut in half and eat immediately, while the outside is still crisp.
Add in this stepCold butter, cut into thick pats 20 gSweetened condensed milk 2 tbsp
Cook's tip
Dip only briefly: bread that gets too wet soaks up oil. Let the oil cool completely in the pan before straining it into a jar or disposing of it, and never pour hot oil down the sink.
Cooking it at camp
Doable with a stable burner and a deep pan on level ground. Use just 5 mm of oil and pan-fry rather than deep-fry, turning once more to crisp the edges. Keep children and pets away from the hot oil and let it cool completely before packing up.