Jump to:
What is Hong Kong French Toast?
Hong Kong Style French toast is made of fluffy milk bread stuffed with peanut butter, coated with egg and fried in oil. It's delicious served with butter and condensed milk.
Hong Kong style cafes, or also known as "cha-cha-teng" in Cantonese, serve this delicious dish. Cha-cha-tengs commonly serve Western dishes made with Asian cooking methods.
Since Hong Kong was once colonized by Britain, these cafés will serve East-meets-West-like dishes like ham and egg sandwiches or macaroni soup.
I absolutely love enjoying french toast with a warm HK style milk tea as the pair go so well together. It's truly the best afternoon snack and my husband's all time favorite!
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Asian-Style Milk bread: commonly sold at Asian bakeries and it comes in thick slices or as a square loaf. Can't find this? Substitute with square shaped white bread or egg bread.
- Peanut butter: or substitute with any nut butter of your choice or nutella.
- Eggs
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil, coconut oil or any heavy scented oils.
Toppings
- Butter: if you're dairy-free substitute with dairy-free or vegan butter
- Condensed Milk: or substitute with Honey or Maple syrup
Variations
- For a vegetarian or vegan version: substitute the eggs with an egg replacer.
- For a dairy-free version: substitute the bread with regular white bread and the condensed milk with condensed coconut milk. Substitute the butter with a vegan butter.
Expert Tips
- Use eggs with omega 3s for a vibrant golden color!
- Spread the peanut butter from edge to edge to keep the bread slices stuck to each other.
- Slice the crusts off so the spongy bread can evenly absorb the egg.
- Use a heavy bottom pan to maintain oil temperature.
- Fry one sandwich at a time to maintain oil temperature.
- Lightly coat the sandwich with egg and don't over coat it or it'll be challenging to handle since the bread gets mushy.
- Make sure the oil is hot enough. I recommend using a digital instant read thermometer to measure the oil temperature.
- Closely monitor the frying process and do not over fry or you can burn the toast easily!
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make Hong Kong style French toast:
Spread Peanut Butter & Layer Bread
For one sandwich, evenly spread a thin layer of peanut butter on two slices of the bread from edge to edge. Leave 1 slice of bread without peanut butter.
Place the two slices with peanut butter on top of each other with the peanut butter facing upwards. Place the last slice on top and lightly push down so it sticks together as one sandwich. Repeat step 1 and 2 for the remaining slices of bread.
Slice Crusts off & Beat Eggs
Slice off the crusts of both sandwich with a bread knife to create a square.
In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs until smooth.
Coat Sandwiches & Rest
Lightly coat sandwiches in the beaten eggs. Don't over coat it or it'll get mushy and hard to handle.
Rest the sandwiches vertically on a plate as you work on the next step.
Heat Oil & Fry Sandwich
In a large heavy bottomed pan, heat vegetable oil over low-medium heat (level 4 out of 10 on the dial or around 300 F). Then carefully lower one sandwich into the hot oil.
Fry on all sides until golden brown (30 seconds on the sides and 1-2 minutes on the larger surface areas). Repeat the frying process for the remaining sandwich. Enjoy hot with butter and condensed milk!
Pairing Suggestions
This serves well with Hong Kong Style Milk Tea (here's my earl grey version), fresh fruit, whipped cream, honey, maple syrup.
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? I wouldn't recommend freezing this as this is best eaten fresh.
FAQ
Yes, you can also air fry Hong Kong style french toast by preheating it to 400 F for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, evenly spread the peanut butter on two bread slices and stick the slices together. Once the air fryer has preheated, lightly spraying the air fryer basket with neutral oil. Lightly coat the sandwich into the beaten egg and quickly place it flat into the air fryer basket. Immediately air fry for 5-6 minutes until golden brown and then air fry on the other side for 2-3 minutes.
No, I wouldn't recommend baking this as it will lose its crispy exterior.
Other recipes you may like
📖 Recipe
Easy 10-min. Hong Kong Style French Toast
Ingredients
- 6 pieces milk bread or any square shaped white bread
- 4 tablespoon smooth peanut butter or sub with nutella, condensed milk or any nut butter of your choice
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1 cup vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Toppings:
- 2 tablespoon butter as needed
- sweetened condensed milk as needed, or sub with honey or maple syrup
Instructions
- For one sandwich, evenly spread a thin layer of peanut butter on two slices of the bread from edge to edge. Leave 1 slice of bread without peanut butter.
- Place the two slices with peanut butter on top of each other with the peanut butter facing upwards. Place the last slice on top and lightly push down so it sticks together as one sandwich. Repeat step 1 and 2 for the remaining slices of bread.
- Slice off the crusts of both sandwich with a bread knife to create a square.
- In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs until smooth.
- Lightly coat sandwiches in the beaten eggs. Don't over coat it or it'll get mushy and hard to handle.
- Rest the sandwiches vertically on a plate as you work on the next step.
- In a large heavy bottomed pan, heat vegetable oil over low-medium heat (level 4 out of 10 on the dial or around 300 F). Then carefully lower one sandwich into the hot oil.
- Fry on all sides until golden brown (30 seconds on the sides and 1-2 minutes on the larger surface areas). Repeat the frying process for the remaining sandwich. Enjoy 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 🙂