Egg Custard Toast

Like everybody else, I’ve been doing some baking during the pandemic. I used to do a lot more, but stopped for a while because of the time it took and I was short on it just how life was like. It’s nice to reconnect with that and I’ve only made shokupan once. I had a loaf that turned out okay, but didn’t want to waste it. It started getting stale and I was trying to think of ways of making it stretch, but still be really tasty. You can do this with any other kind of bread and honestly, I made this a bit more plain so that it can be as versatile as possible to work with whatever you have in the pantry.

At first, I was thinking of making something like a savory bread pudding, but I didn’t want to make a single large batch that I might get tired of. I didn’t have much dairy around and wanted to reserve the last bit of cream that I had to water down (to get the equivalent fat content for a milk replacement) for any future shokupan attempts.

Part of why my last post for 蒸水蛋 steamed egg custard was really to make this. The nice thing is that people with lactose intolerance can have it too. It’s kind of like a savory French toast, but without the dairy. The only difference is that I water down the egg custard even more (in my head, it will help it stay more custard-like and not risk turning stiff like scrambled eggs) and to reduce the seasoning in the batter. This way, you can season it more with whatever toppings you have. Also, by adding more water gives you more batter to work with so a single egg can be stretched out to make at least 4 slices of toast.

I went with a few combinations of flavors that I think goes well. I made an okonomiyaki one topped with Kewpie, tonkatsu sauce, furikake, and katsuobushi. I made one with a very thin smear of Guilin chili sauce, Kewpie, pork floss, and scallions. I also did one that’s like a kimchi-jeon with cho ganjang. I can easily see a miso or doenjang butter that can be smeared on the top to be really good as well. Again you can customize it to whatever you want, make new ones, but really to use what you have in your pantry and fridge.

RECIPE:

Stale bread
1 egg
3/4 c water
1/2 tsp Knorr chicken bouillon
Salt to taste
Pinch of MSG
Neutral oil

Whisk the chicken bouillon, salt, and MSG in the water to dissolve easily in large plate with tall walls. Crack an egg and whisk this in until you don’t see any streaks of yolk or whites.

Soak your stale bread slices in this batter. My plate only holds 2 slices of bread at a time. It soaks fast, so you don’t need to soak them all at once.

In a non-stick pan, heat over medium high heat until the pan is hot. Add neutral oil and add 2 slices of soaked bread into the pan. Reduce the heat to medium low.

Set a timer for 3 minutes. Don’t move the toast and at about a minute and a half (90 seconds) in, using a spatula to check if the bottom is seared to a nice light golden color. When it’s ready, flip and sear the other side until for the remaining minute and a half until the other side is golden.

Transfer to a plate and top with whatever you have and whatever you want.

Repeat the same steps to continue cooking toast in batches.

Okonomiyaki style:

Kewpie
Tonkatsu sauce
Furikake
Katsuobushi

With your toast, top with kewpie, tonkatsu sauce, furikake and/or katsuobushi to your liking.

Pork floss:

Any kind of spicy doubanjiang you have
Kewpie
Pork floss
Sliced green onions

While your toast is cooking, wash and thinly slice green onions and set aside.

With your toast, take a very light amount of spicy doubanjiang and spread it on the top of the toast. This of course will depend on how salty your doubanjiang is. Top with some Kewpie, pork floss, and sliced green onions.

Kimchi-jeon style:

Kimchi, finely chopped
Neutral oil
Soy sauce
Vinegar
Water
Sugar

While your toast is cooking, wash and thinly slice green onions and set aside.

Finely chop some kimchi and set aside.

Make cho ganjang to your preference by mixing soy sauce, vinegar, water, and sugar to your liking. Set aside. (Sorry, I have a habit of never measuring this when I make it.)

When all your toast is finished cooking and set aside. Add a little bit more oil as needed in the non-stick pan and raise the heat to medium. Add the kimchi and saute until it is slightly dry. Top over the toast and enjoy with cho ganjang.