Have you heard of the Hotel Okura in Tokyo? It’s recognized as one of the top hotels in the world, often housing rich business travelers and foreign heads of state visiting Japan. Every U.S. president since Richard Nixon has stayed there, and even James Bond has been a guest!
But despite all that, the Hotel Okura is best known among us mortals as “the home of the most delicious French toast in the world.” It’s been praised by innumerable websites and reviews, turning the small, simple breakfast dish into a 1,840-yen (US$15.50) delicacy. With a price and reputation like that, you wouldn’t expect us to be able to make the exact same thing in our office kitchen. Right?
Well, we did. And so can you!
Apparently there has been such a great demand for Hotel Okura’s French toast that the hotel itself put up the recipe for how to make it on its website, allowing anyone to view it and attempt to create it themselves.
It’s actually quite simple. Here’s all the ingredients you’ll need:
• Eggs (6)
• Milk (370 cc/1.56 cups)
• Sugar (62 grams/4.26 tablespoons)
• Bread (thick slices 4 cm/1.57 in thick, no crust)
• Vanilla extract (a little bit)
• Butter (a little bit)
• Vegetable oil (a little bit)
▼ Everything you need to achieve nirvana.
▼ If there’s any crust on the bread, first remove it.
Mix the eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract together, then let the bread soak in the mixture for 24 hours (optimally 12 hours on each side). Covering the bowls in plastic wrap and setting them in the fridge is best.
▼ Hotel Okura Chef’s Advice: “Make sure the mixture is nice and thick and don’t rush the soaking process.”
▼ Once the bread has finished soaking, heat the oil and melt the butter in a medium-hot pan. Then put the bread in and turn down to low heat, cooking the slices on both sides.
Cover the bread while it’s cooking, and heat for about 15 minutes.
▼ Hotel Okura Chef’s Advice: “Take your time cooking it on low heat so that the inside expands.”
And that’s it! You’re done, with the actual cooking, and your steps to pure bliss are almost complete.
If you like, you can also cook the toast a little longer, making it crispy out the outside and fluffy on the inside.
Feel free to load up on maple syrup, jam, or whatever else you want to put on it.
▼ Warning! Delicious, hardcore food porn coming up.
▼ Oh…
▼ …yeahh. So soft.
▼ Here at RocketNews24 Headquarters, we had a few lucky individuals participate in a taste-test.
▼ “Oh this looks pretty good.”
▼ “No. Wait. It’s very good. In fact it’s…”
▼ Raaaiiinnnbbbooowwwsss of happiness!
▼ A curious and enthusiastic expression turns into…
▼ The perfect umai~ face.
▼ Of course Mr. Sato had to give it a try too.
▼ Oh no. Something’s gone horribly wrong!
▼ …or horribly right!
▼ He actually went into a food coma, right there. Thankfully he was saved by being fed more French toast.
▼ Some people just like to dive right into the deep end.
▼ Woah! Slow down. You do have to chew, remember.
▼ The look of a man who has found what he’s been looking for, without even knowing he was searching for it in the first place.
▼ And yet still has a kind enough heart to offer some to the cameraman.
▼ The traditional “going in screaming” approach.
▼ Followed by superb “coming out squealing” finish.
▼ :/
▼ :o
▼ :|
▼ :D
▼ Thank you Hotel Okura French toast! You will forever be remembered… in our stomachs.
If the above pictures look tantalizing to you, then give the recipe a try! Be sure to let us know how yours turned out in the comments.
Source/images: RocketNews24
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