A deep-fried version of the classic French toast stuffed peanut butter and served with butter and condensed milk. This easy Hong Kong Style French Toast recipe is ready in 10 minutes with simple ingredients! Great for breakfast, snack time or dessert.
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What is Hong Kong French Toast?
Hong Kong Style French Toast is made of fluffy milk bread stuffed with peanut butter, then coated in egg and deep-fried until golden. It's typically served with butter and sweetened condensed milk.
You'll often find this toast dish at many Hong Kong-style cafés (aka "cha chaan teng" in Cantonese). These casual cafés commonly serve Western dishes with an Chinese twist.
As Hong Kong was once colonized by Britain, these cafés will serve East-meets-West comfort food, such as ham and egg sandwiches or macaroni soup.
I personally love this dish as a snack, especially with a warm Hong Kong-style milk tea. It's also my husband's favorite and he orders it all the time!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Asian-Style Milk bread: this bread is available at Asian bakeries and it comes in thick square slices or in a square loaf. Or substitute with Texas toast bread or any thick white bread.
- Smooth Peanut Butter: or substitute with crunchy peanut butter if you want texture, almond butter or Nutella.
- Large Eggs
- Neutral Oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil. Avoid olive oil or any low-smoke point oil.
Toppings
- Butter
- Condensed Milk: or substitute with honey or maple syrup.
Variations
- Vegetarian or Vegan version - substitute the eggs with a vegan egg replacer.
- Dairy-free version - substitute the milk bread with regular white bread and the condensed milk with condensed coconut milk. Substitute the butter with a vegan butter.
Expert Tips
- Use eggs enriched with omega 3s for a vibrant golden color!
- Evenly spread the peanut butter across the entire piece of bread so the slices can adhere to each other.
- Slice the crusts off so the sides are able to absorb the egg.
- Lightly coat the sandwich with egg and avoid overcoating or it will become too soggy to handle.
- Use a heavy bottomed pan to maintain oil temperature.
- Fry one sandwich at a time and don't overcrowd the pan.
- Make sure the oil is hot enough before frying. The oil temperature should be around 300 degrees F with a digital cooking thermometer.
- Monitor the frying process as it's quick or your toast can easily burn.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make Hong Kong style French toast:
- Spread peanut butter: For each sandwich, spread a thin, even layer of peanut butter on two slices of bread, making sure to go from edge to edge. Leave the third slice plain.
- Assemble sandwiches: Stack the two peanut-buttered slices together with the peanut butter sides facing up. Place the plain slice on top and gently press so the layers stick. Repeat with the remaining slices of bread.
- Remove the crusts: Slice off the crusts of each sandwich with a bread knife to create a square.
- Coat sandwiches in egg: In a large shallow bowl, beat the eggs until smooth. Lightly coat each sandwich in the eggs - don't overcoat or it'll get too mushy to handle!
- Rest the sandwiches: Vertically rest the coated sandwiches on a plate as you work on the next step.
- Fry until golden: Heat vegetable oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan over low-medium heat, around 300 degrees F. Fry one sandwich on all sides until golden brown - about 1 - 2 minutes on the wider sides and about 30 seconds on the edges. Repeat with the remaining sandwich. Serve hot with butter and condensed milk.
Storage & Reheating
- Hong Kong-style French Toast will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge, once cooled. To enjoy, reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until hot throughout.
- I don't recommend freezing Hong Kong-style French toast as the freezer will change the texture of it.
Pairing Suggestions
Hong Kong-style French toast serves well with:
- Hong Kong-style Milk Tea (here's my earl grey version) or any tea of choice, coffee, lattes or iced coffee.
- crepes, waffles or pancakes.
- breakfast sausage, fried spam, fried ham, or cooked eggs on the side.
- fresh fruit
- baked goods like cookies, pastries, or cakes.
FAQ
Hong Kong-style French toast can be made in the air fryer. Pre-heat the air fryer to 400 F for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, assemble the sandwiches as instructed in the recipe card, but don't coat with eggs just yet. Once the air fryer is pre-heated, lightly spray the air fryer basket with neutral oil. Then lightly coat the sandwiches with the beaten eggs and place them flat in the basket. Air fry for 5-6 minutes until golden, flip over, and air fry for another 2-3 minutes.
No, I wouldn't recommend baking this as it will lose its crispy exterior.
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📖 Recipe
Easy 10-min. Hong Kong Style French Toast
Ingredients
- 6 pieces milk bread or Texas toast bread / any thick white bread
- 4 tablespoon smooth peanut butter or nutella / almond butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Toppings:
- 2 tablespoon butter or as needed
- sweetened condensed milk or honey, maple syrup (as needed)
Instructions
- For each sandwich, spread a thin, even layer of peanut butter on two slices of bread, making sure to go from edge to edge. Leave the third slice plain.
- Stack the two peanut-buttered slices together with the peanut butter sides facing up. Place the plain slice on top and gently press so the layers adhere. Repeat with the remaining slices of bread.
- Slice off the crusts of each sandwich with a bread knife to create a square.
- In a large shallow bowl, beat the eggs until smooth. Lightly coat each sandwich in the eggs - don't overcoat or it'll get too mushy to handle!
- Vertically rest the coated sandwiches on a plate as you work on the next step.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan over low-medium heat, around 300 degrees F.
- Fry one sandwich on all sides until golden brown - about 1 - 2 minutes on the wider sides and about 30 seconds on the edges. Repeat with the remaining sandwich. Serve hot with butter and condensed milk.
John Schmidt
Very easy to make. Also tastes well with Brioche bread if Milk Bread is not available. I made it for my Chinese mother-in-law when she was not feeling well and it made her day.
Christie Lai
Thanks for making my recipe, John! So happy it was easy to make and thanks for sharing that substitute idea. Glad my recipe made her day 🙂
V
Why did my French toast come out soggy? It doesn’t hold its shape like yours
christieathome
There are various factors as to why it came out soggy and didn't hold shape: 1) the peanut butter was not spread well enough to make the slices of bread stick together 2) the sandwich was not lightly coated in the egg and it was oversoaked 3) if it was oversoaked, it would come out soggy and would not retain its shape. Hope this helps for next time!
Natasha
Thank you for recipe.
christieathome
You're very welcome Natasha, glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the review!
Kate
Ok so I’ll try it with Nutella and another recipe added half cup evaporated milk with the 2 eggs so I’ll try it that way also. 🙂
christieathome
Thanks Kate! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Belle
Got the seal of approval from my notoriously picky brother. Little fuss ,very tasty.
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Belle! I'm so glad you and your brother enjoyed it 🙂
DW
I had it before but I don't know the receipt, that's a Great One 😀
christieathome
Thank you so much! Glad I could share this recipe with you!
Karina
Thank you for this great recipe, reminds me of my travels to HK 🙂 l going to make it this weekend.
Diana C
Yum! Needed new breakfast ideas for the family and this one really hit the spot, thank you!
I especially like the tip on not over spreading the peanut butter, couldn’t help myself on first attempt!
christieathome
Hi Diana! Thank you so much for making my recipe and I am so glad it hit the spot! I hope you're keeping well during these times and family is also well too! Wishing you a very happy new year ahead 🙂 - Christie
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
Okay, so I really need to try fried French Toast. This is such an epic way to elevate the flavors!!
Michelle | Sift & Simmer
I love HK style french toast! My friend introduced it to me years ago in University, and I always think of her when I make it! I love it with condensed milk 🙂