Savoury Hong Kong-Style French Toast with Devan Grimsrud
Stacks on stacks on stacks...
This week’s recipe comes from a recipe developer I greatly admire: Devan Grimsrud. Her Substack, Darn Good, is a constantly inspiring treasure trove, and she’s created a humdinger for us here in the form of her Savoury Hong Kong-Style French Toast. It thrums with gochujang, cheese and a sesame coating reminiscent of the best prawn toast. It’s clever, thrilling and surprisingly easy.
I love sharing Guest Special Recipes on the newsletter because it’s a chance for me to pause and take in the results of someone else’s ingenious mind. This week’s recipe really provided one of those moments. I’ve followed Devan’s work for a long time now via Instagram and Substack and I’m forever impressed by her creativity and flawless execution. She produces a staggering number of impeccable recipes and videos, and enormous hats off to her, is all I can say.
If you haven’t made or eaten HK French toast before, it involves stacking 4 slices of sliced sandwich bread with fillings and then coating in egg mixture, and frying on all 6 sides, until you have a golden tower of goodness. Turning the stack in the pan can be a little finicky but the recipe gives you all the tips you need to retain structural integrity of your toast, fret not.
Devan’s idea of using spicy gochujang, melty cheese, chives and sesame in this recipe is inspired and I just really hope you make it! For lunch, dinner or a weekend breakfast – you will be delighted.
Thanks so much to Devan! Subscribe to receive more of her brilliant recipes here.
Savoury Hong Kong-Style French Toast
4 slices wheat sandwich bread (you could also use white or a seeded bread, just choose something that’s still soft and light, nothing too dense or heavy)
3 teaspoons gochujang
salt and freshly ground black pepper
60 grams grated cheese (I like a mix of mozzarella and cheddar, but you could use either or)
1 tablespoon water
½ tablespoon soy sauce
2 eggs
3 tablespoons minced chives, plus more serving (substitute: minced scallion)
40 grams raw sesame seeds (optional)
Vegetable oil (substitute: clarified butter)
For serving
Ketchup, flaky salt, salted butter
Pickled radishes, ginger or onions
Makes one four layer French toast
Lay a piece of bread on a cutting board and spread it with a teaspoon of gochujang and about ⅓ of the shredded cheese. season with salt and pepper and then stack another piece on top. Spread with another teaspoon of gochujang, another ⅓ of the cheese and season again with salt and pepper. repeat once more to use up all the gochujang and cheese, then stack on the last piece of bread and press lightly to encourage the layers to stick together.
Use a serrated knife to cut off the crusts and create a nice even square; we won’t use the crusts, so fry and enjoy them as a snack while cooking or you can choose to leave them on the French toast if desired, just note it may be a bit harder to fry the edges evenly.
Add water, soy sauce and eggs to a shallow bowl or plate and whisk to combine with a fork. Add minced chives and whisk again, until there are no visible streaks of egg white in the mixture. Add the sesame seeds to another shallow bowl or plate.
Add vegetable oil to a cast iron (or non-stick frying) pan until there’s enough to completely coat the bottom. Set over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, use both hands to quickly and carefully coat first the sides of the french toast stack in the egg mixture, not letting any side sit in the egg for too long, then dip the top and bottom in the egg mixture. Transfer the French toast to the sesame seeds, placing what will be the top or bottom of the French toast in the seeds and pressing gently to get an even layer all over. Flip to coat the other side that will be the top or bottom and gently press once more.
Transfer the French toast to the oil and fry for about one minute, then flip to another side and repeat until all 6 sides are really nicely golden brown. I found it easier to start with the layered sides first, using two spatulas (or your hands if you’re brave!) if needed, to help it stand up and maintain its shape, and finish with the sesame-coated top and bottom, letting them cook a bit longer to brown (but not burn!) the sesame seeds. About 3-4 minutes in total, to melt the cheese inside.
Once nicely golden all over, transfer the French toast to a serving plate. drizzle with some ketchup if desired, then sprinkle with more minced chives, black pepper and some flaky salt. Finish with a thin pat of salted butter and serve immediately with some pickles on the side, if desired.
A day of eating nice things in N16
Yesterday I spent the day testing my stomach’s capacity in East London. I began in Lower Clapton, with pastries at Bake Street – a café I’ve been wanting to visit for a year at least. I knew it was a big eating day so I resisted their birria and Nashville hot chicken sandwich (will go back for these as soon as possible). Instead, I chose things that could travel for the day, and tried a leek and cheese ‘biscuit’ (scone), pistachio crème brûlée cookie and the pistachio croissant my friend had ordered. Sublime!!
Next, I moved on to meet my cousin for a two-parter on Green Lanes beginning at Ustun Lamacun and Pide Salonu. We ate lamacun and lamb and pepper pide, alongside pickled chillies and an Ayran, the salty yogurt drink I like a lot. I enjoyed how customisation was part of the experience, with seasoning and acidity adjusted at the table with salt and lemon, and chilli and garlic sauces. It was sensational. Took a cold rice pudding away with me which was a very refreshing pre-bed snack later...
Next up, we walked to 01 Astana where the name of the game was for me to try my first ever İskender kebab – a dish in which lamb kofte and bread are stirred through a homemade tomato sauce then topped with labne and chilli brown butter. It was all of the best ingredients in one dish, and reminded me quite instantly of butter chicken, what with all the yogurt, butter, meat, and tomato.
We also had a refreshing soslu patlıcan (aubergine in tomato sauce) and cacik (cucumber yogurt with garlic and mint) for starters, and a grilled quail, which was very well seasoned and cooked to perfection over charcoal, retaining all its succulence. I drank a salty turnip drink which did powerful things to my stomach and mind.
We finished at Perilla for a drink and their dessert, which was a seaweed scone with blackcurrant conserve sitting in a caramel-custard type substance. This tasted exactly like Ambrosia rice pudding and jam, but with different textures. Only a compliment, this.
My conclusion is it’s amazing what the stomach can handle if you take a few well-timed walks! I like to eat this way, and aim to do more of it. If like me, you live in London but had never sampled the Turkish food on offer on Green Lanes I would suggest doing so at the nearest opportunity. Thanks to my cousin Ewan for the tour.